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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017
https://archive.org/details/pastpresentoflakOOunse
THE
PAST AND PRESENT
OF
CONTAINING
A History of the County — Its Cities, Towns, &c., A Biographical
Directory of its Citizens, War Record of its Volunteers in
THE LATE REBELLION, PORTRAITS OF EARLY SETTLERS AND .
Prominent Men, General and Local Statistics, Map of
Lake County, History of Illinois, Illustrated,
History of the Northwest, Illustrated, Con¬
stitution of the United States, Mis¬
cellaneous Matters, Etc., Etc.
ILLTJSTBATED.
CHICAGO:
WM. LE BARON & CO.,
186 Dearborn Street,
1877.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by
WM. LE BARON & CO.,
In tile Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, 1). <3.
1356310
PREFACE.
In presenting our Past and Present of Lake County in historical form, we deem
a few prefatory words necessary. We have spared neither pains nor expense to fulfill
our engagement with our patrons and make the work as complete as possible. We
have acted upon the principle that justice to those who have subscribed, be they few
or many, requires that the work should be as well done as if it was patronized by every
citizen in the county. We do not claim that our work is entirely free from errors ; such
a result could not be attained by the utmost care and foresight of ordinary mortals.
Some of the Township Histories are indeed longer than others, as the townships are
larger and older, containing larger cities and towns, and have been the scenes of more
important and interesting events. While fully recognizing this important difference,
the historian has sought to write up each township with equal fidelity to the facts and
information within his reach. We take this occasion to present our thanks to all our
numerous subscribers for their patronage and encouragement in the publication of the
work. In this confident belief we submit it to the enlightened judgment of those for
whose benefit it has been prepared, believing that it will be received as a most valuable
and complete work.
THE PUBLISHERS.
CONTENTS
HISTORICAL.
Page.
Wisconsin . 104
Minnesota . ,.106
Nebraska . 107
History of Illinois . 109
Coal . 125
Compact of 1787 . ..117
Chicago . 182
Early Discoveries . 109
Early Settlements . lift
Education . 129
First French Occupation . 112
Genius of La Salle . 113
Material Resources . 124
Massacre ot Fort Dearborn . 141
Physical Features . 121
Progress of Development . 123
Religion and Morals . 128
War Record of Illinois . 130
Page.
History of Lake County . 219
The County at Large . 219
Township of Antioch . 241
Avon . 245
Benton . 250
Cuba . 255
Deerfield . 259
Ela . 269
Fremont . 277
Grant . 286
Liberty ville . 294
Newport . 299
Shields . 301
Vernon . 313
Warren . . . 316
Wauconda . 318
Waukegan . 320
City of Waukegan . 450
Page.
History Northwest Territory . 19
Geographical . 19
Early Exploration . 20
Discovery of the Ohio . 33
English Explorations and Settle¬
ments . 35
American Settlements . 60
Division of the Northwest Terri¬
tory . 66
Tecumseh and the war of 1812 . 70
Black Hawk and the Black Hawk
War . 74
Other Indian Troubles . 79
Present Condition of the Northwest 87
Illinois . 99
Indiana . 101
Towa . 102
Michigan . 103
Page.
Mouth of the Mississippi . 21
Source of the Mississippi . 21
Wild Prairie . 23
La Salle Landing on the Shore of
Green Bay . 25
Buffalo Hunt . . 27
Trapping . 29
Hunting . 32
Iroquois Chief. . 34
Pontiac, the Ottawa Chieftain . 43
Indians Attacking Frontiersmen... 56
A Prairie Storm . 59
A Pioneer Dwelling . 61
Breaking Prairie . 63
ILLLSTRATIOm
Page.
Tecumseh, the Shawnee Chieftain... 69
Indians Attacking a Stockade . 72
Black Hawk, the Sac Chieftain . 75
Big Eagle . 80
Captain Jack, the Modoc Chieftain.. 83
Kinzie House . 85
Village Residence . 86
A Represen tatrve Pioneer . 87
Lincoln Monument, Springfield, Ill. 88
A Pioneer School House . 89
Farm View in the Winter . 90
Spring Scene . 91
Pioneers’ First Winter . 92
Apple Harvest . 94
Page.
Great Iron Bridge of Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific Railroad, Cross¬
ing the River at Davenport, Iowa 96
A Western Dwelling . 100
Hunting Prairie Wolves at an
Early Day . 108
Starved Rock, on the Illinois River,
La Salle County, Ill . 110
An Early Settlement . 116
Chicago in 1833 . 133
Old Fort Dearborn in 1830 . 136
Ruins of Chicago . 142
View of the City of Chicago . 144
Shabbona . 149
LITHOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS.
Page.
Bradbury, Samuel 1 . 253
Cook, Ansel B . 307
Farwell, C. B . 218
Page.
Partridge, Chas. A . 235
Partridge, H. E . 289
Robertson, Jno . 325
Page.
Waterman, Amos S . 271
History..
Infantry
LAKE COUNTY WAR HISTORY AND RECORD.
Page.
....461
....472
Cavalry
Page, j
....492 Artillery
Page.
....496
TOWNSHIP DIRECTORY.
Page.
Antioch . 350
Avon . 361
Benton . 376
Cuba . 367
Deerfield . 382
Page.
Ela . 371
Fremont . 389
Grant . 398
Libertyville . 401
Newport . 412
Page.
Shields . 424
Vernon . 429
Warren . 433
Wauconda . 439
Waukegan . 327
6
CONTENTS.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE
Page.
Adoption of Children . 160
Bills of Exchange and Promissory
Notes . 151
County Courts . 155
Conveyances . 164
Church Organizations . 189
Descent . 151
Deeds and Mortgages . 157
Drainage . 163
Damages from Trespass . 169
Definition of Commercial Terms . 173
Exemptions from Forced Sale . 156
Estrays . 157
Fences . 168
Forms :
Articles of Agreement . 175
Bills of Purchase . 174
Bills of Sale . 176
Bonds . 176
Page.
Chattel Mortgages . 177
Codicil . 189
Lease of Farm and Build¬
ings . 179
Lease of House . 180
Landlord’s Agreement . 180
Notes . 174
Notice Tenant to Quit . t81
Orders . 174
Quit Claim Deed . 185
Receipt . 174
Real Estate Mortgaged to Secure
Payment of Money . 181
Release . 186
Tenant’s Agreement . 180
Tenant’s Notice to Quit . 181
Warranty Deed . 182
Will . 187
Game . 158
Page.
Map of Lake County . Front
Constitution of the U. S . 192
Electors of President and Vice Pres¬
ident . 206
Practical Rules for Every Day Use.207
U. S. Government Land Measure. ..210
Agricultural Productions of Illi¬
nois by Counties, 1870 . 210
Surveyors’ Measure . 211
MISCELLANEOUS.
Page.
How to Keep Accounts . 211
Interest Table . 212
Miscellaneous Tables . 212
Names of the States of the LTnion
and their Signification . 213
Population of the United States . 214
Population of Fifty Principal Cities
of the United States . 214
Population and Area of the United
LAWS.
Page.
Interest . 151
Jurisdiction of Courts . 154
Limitation of Action . 155
Landlord and Tenant . 169
Liens . 172
Married Women . 155
Millers . 159
Marks and Brands . 159
Paupers . 164
Roads and Bridges . 161
Surveyors and Surveys . 160
Suggestions to Persons Purchasing
Books by Subscription . 190
Tflwti 1 ^4-
Wills and Estates.’.".' 3".V.V.V.V.V.V.*.V.’l52
Weights and Measures . 158
Wolf Scalps . 164
Page.
States . 215
Population of the Principal Coun¬
tries in the World . 215
Popu'ation of Illinois . 216-217
Business Directory . 446
Assessors’ Report . 500
Population of Lake County . 499
Official Vote of Lake County . 499
Lodges and Associations . 497
HIGH BRIDGE, LAKE BLUFF
LAKE BLUFF.
Ihe frontage of Lake Bluff Grounds on Lake Michigan, with one hundred and seventy feet of
gradual ascent.
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The Northwest Territory.
GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION.
When the Northwestern Territory was ceded to the United States
by Virginia in 1784, it embraced only the territory lying between the
Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers, and north to the northern limits of the
United States. It coincided with the area now embraced in the States
of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and that portion of
Minnesota lying on the east side of the Mississippi River. The United
States itself at that period extended no farther west than the Mississippi
River ; but by the purchase of Louisiana in 1808, the western boundary
of the United States was extended to the Rocky Mountains and the
Northern Pacific Ocean. The new territory thus added to the National
domain, and subsequently opened to settlement, has been called the
“New Northwest,” in contradistinction from the old “Northwestern
Territory. ”
In comparison with the old Northwest this is a territory of vast
magnitude. It includes an area of 1,887,850 square miles ; being greater
in extent than the united areas of all the Middle and Southern States,
including Texas. Out of this magnificent territory have been erected
eleven sovereign States and eight Territories, with an aggregate popula¬
tion, at the present time, of 18,000,000 inhabitants, or nearly one third of
the entire population of the United States.
Its lakes are fresh-water seas, and the larger rivers of the continent
flow for a thousand miles through its rich alluvial valleys and far-
stretching prairies, more acres of which are arable and productive of the
highest percentage of the cereals than of any other area of like extent
on the globe.
For the last twenty years the increase of population in the North¬
west has been about as three to one in any other portion of the United
States.
(19)
20
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
EARLY EXPLORATIONS.
In the year 1541, DeSoto first saw the Great West in the New
World. He, however, penetrated no farther north than the 35th parallel
of latitude. The expedition resulted in his death and that of more than
half his army, the remainder of whom found their way to Cuba, thence
to Spain, in a famished and demoralized condition. DeSoto founded no
settlements, produced no results, and left no traces, unless it were that
he awakened the hostility of the red man against the white man, and
disheartened such as might desire to follow up the career of discovery
for better purposes. The French nation were eager and ready to seize
upon any news from this extensive domain, and were the first to profit by
DeSoto’s defeat. Yet it was more than a century before any adventurer
took advantage of these discoveries.
In 1616, four years before the pilgrims “ moored their bark on the
wild New England shore,*’ Le Caron, a French Franciscan, had pene¬
trated through the Iroquois and Wyandots (Hurons) to the streams which
run into Lake Huron ; and in 1634, two Jesuit missionaries founded the
first mission among the lake tribes. It was just one hundred years from
the discovery of the Mississippi by DeSoto (1541) until the Canadian
envoys met the savage nations of the Northwest at the Falls of St. Mary,
below the outlet of Lake Superior. This visit led to no permanent
result; yet it was not until 1659 that any of the adventurous fur traders
attempted to spend a Winter in the frozen wilds about the great lakes,
nor was it until 1660 that a station was established upon their borders by
Mesnard, who perished in the woods a few months after. In 1665, Claude
Allouez built the earliest lasting habitation of the white man among the
Indians of the Northwest. In 1668, Claude Dablon and James Marquette
founded the mission of Sault Ste. Marie at the Falls of St. Mary, and two
years afterward, Nicholas Perrot, as agent for M. Talon, Governor Gen¬
eral of Canada, explored Lake Illinois (Michigan) as far south as the
present City of Chicago, and invited the Indian nations to meet him at a
grand council at Sault Ste. Marie the following Spring, where they were
taken under the protection of the king, and formal possession was taken
of the Northwest. This same year Marquette established a mission at
Point St. Ignatius, where was founded the old town of Michillimackinac.
During M. Talon’s explorations and Marquette’s residence at St.
Ignatius, they learned of a great river away to the west, and fancied
— as all others did then — that upon its fertile banks whole tribes of God's
children resided, to whom the sound of the Gospel had never come.
Filled with a wish to go and preach to them, and in compliance with a
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
21
SOURCE OF TIIE MISSISSIPPI. MOUTII OF THE MISSISSIPPI
22
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
request of M. Talon, who earnestly desired to extend the domain of his
king, and to ascertain whether the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico
or the Pacific Ocean, Marquette with Joliet, as commander of the expe¬
dition, prepared for the undertaking.
On the 13th of May, 1673, the explorers, accompanied by five assist¬
ant French Canadians, set out from Mackinaw on their daring voyage of
discovery. The Indians, who gathered to witness their departure, were
astonished at the boldness of the undertaking, and endeavored to dissuade
them from their purpose by representing the tribes on the Mississippi as
exceedingly savage and cruel, and the river itself as full of all sorts of
frightful monsters ready to swallow them and their canoes together. But,
nothing daunted by these terrific descriptions, Marquette told them he
was willing not only to encounter all the perils of the unknown region
they were about to explore, but to lay down his life in a cause in which
the salvation of souls was involved; and having prayed together they
separated. Coasting along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, the
adventurers entered Green Bay, and passed thence up the Fox River and
Lake Winnebago to a village of the Miamis and Kickapoos. Here Mar¬
quette was delighted to find a beautiful cross planted in the middle of the
town ornamented with white skins, red girdles and bows and arrows,
which these good people had offered to the Great Manitou, or God, to
thank him for the pity he had bestowed on them during the Winter in
giving them an abundant “ chase.’ ' This was the farthest outpost to
which Dablon and Allouez had extended their missionary labors the
year previous. Here Marquette drank mineral waters and was instructed
in the secret of a root which cures the bite of the venomous rattlesnake.
He assembled the chiefs and old men of the village, and, pointing to
Joliet, said: “ My friend is an envoy of France, to discover new coun¬
tries, and I am an ambassador from God to enlighten them with the truths
of the Gospel.*’ Two Miami guides were here furnished to conduct
them to the Wisconsin River, and they set out from the Indian village on
the 10th of June, amidst a great crowd of natives who had assembled to
witness their departure into a region where no white man had ever vet
ventured. The guides, having conducted them across the portage,
returned. The explorers launched their canoes upon the Wisconsin,
which they descended to the Mississippi and proceeded down its unknown
waters. What emotions must have swelled their breasts as they struck
out into the broadening current and became conscious that they were
now upon the bosom of the Father of Waters. The mystery was about
to be lifted from the long-sought river. The scenery in that locality is
beautiful, and on that delightful seventeenth of June must have been
clad in all its primeval loveliness as it had been adorned by the hand of
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
23
Nature. Drifting rapidly, it is said that the bold bluffs on either hand
“ reminded them of the castled shores of their own beautiful rivers of
France.” By-and-by, as they drifted along, great herds of buffalo appeared
on the banks. On going to the heads of the valley they could see a
country of the greatest beauty and fertility, apparently destitute of inhab¬
itants }~et presenting the appearance of extensive manors, under the fas¬
tidious cultivation of lordly proprietors.
THE WILD PRAIRIE.
On June 25, they went ashore and found some fresh traces of men upon
the sand, and a path which led to the prairie. The men remained in the
boat, and Marquette and Joliet followed the path till they discovered a
village on the banks of a river, and two other villages on a hill, within a
half league of the first, inhabited by Indians. They were received most
hospitably by these natives, who had never before seen a white person.
After remaining a few days they re-embarked and descended the river to
about latitude 33°, where they found a village of the Arkansas, and being
satisfied that the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, turned their course
24
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
up the river, and ascending the stream to the mouth of the Illinois,
rowed up that stream to its source, and procured guides from that point
to the lakes. “ Nowhere on this journey,” says Marquette, “did we see
such grounds, meadows, woods, stags, buffaloes, deer, wildcats, bustards,
swans, ducks, parroquets, and even beavers, as on the Illinois River.”
The party, without loss or injury, reached Green Bay in September, and
reported their discovery— one of the most important of the age, but of
which no record was preserved save Marquette’s, Joliet losing his by
the upsetting of his canoe on his way to Quebec. Afterward Marquette
returned to the Illinois Indians by their request, and ministered to them
until 1675. On the 18th of May, in that year, as he was passing the
mouth of a stream — going with his boatmen up Lake Michigan — he asked
to land at its mouth and celebrate Mass. Leaving his men with the canoe,
he retired a short distance and began his devotions. As much time
passed and he did not return, his men went in search of him, and found
him upon his knees, dead. He had peaceful^ passed away while at
prayer. He was buried at this spot. Charlevoix, who visited the place
fifty years after, found the waters had retreated from the grave, leaving
the beloved missionary to repose in peace. The river has since been
called Marquette.
While Marquette and his companions were pursuing their labors in
the West, two men, differing widely from him and each other, were pre¬
paring to follow in his footsteps and perfect the discoveries so well begun
by him. These were Robert de LaSalle and Louis Hennepin.
After La Salle’s return fr-om the discovery of the Ohio River (see
the narrative elsewhere), he established himself again among the French
trading posts in Canada. Here he mused long upon the pet project of
those ages — a short way to China and the East, and was busily planning an
expedition up the great lakes, and so across the continent to the Pacific,
when Marquette returned from the Mississippi. At once the vigorous mind
of LaSalle received from his and his companions’ stories the idea that by fol¬
lowing the Great River northward, or by turning up some of the numerous
western tributaries, the object could easily be gained. He applied to
Frontenac, Governor General of Canada, and laid before him the plan,
dim but gigantic. Frontenac entered warmly into his plans, and saw that
LaSalle’s idea to connect the great lakes by a chain of forts with the Gulf
of Mexico would bind the country so wonderfully together, give un¬
measured power to France, and glory to himself, under whose adminis¬
tration he earnestly hoped all would be realized.
LaSalle now repaired to France, laid his plans before the King, who
warmly approved of them, and made him a Chevalier. He also received
from all the noblemen the warmest wishes for his success. The Chev-
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
25
alier returned to Canada, and busily entered upon his work. He at
once rebuilt Fort Frontenac and constructed the first ship to sail on
these fresh-water seas. On the 7th of August, 1679, having been joined
by Hennepin, he began his voyage in the Griffin up Lake Erie. He
passed over this lake, through the straits beyond, up Lake St. Clair and
into Huron. In this lake they encountered heavy storms. They were
some time at Michillimackinac, where LaSalle founded a fort, and passed
on to Green Bay, the “ Baie des Puans ” of the French, where he found
a large quantity of furs collected for him. He loaded the Griffin with
these, and placing her under the care of a pilot and fourteen sailors,
LA SALLE LANDING ON THE SHORE OF GREEN BAY.
started her on her return voyage. The vessel was never afterward heard
of. He remained about these parts until early in the Winter, when, hear¬
ing nothing from the Griffin, he collected all his men — thirty working
men and three monks — and started again upon his great undertaking.
By a short portage they passed to the Illinois or Kankakee, called by
the Indians, “ Theakeke,” wolf ’, because of the tribes of Indians called
by that name, commonly known as the Mahingans, dwelling there. I be
French pronounced it Kiakiki , which became corrupted to Kankakee.
“Falling down the said river by easy journeys, the better to observe the
country,” about the last of December they reached a village of the
Illinois Indians, containing some five hundred cabins, but at that moment
26
THE NORTHWEST TERRI 1 ORY.
no inhabitants. The Seur de LaSalle being in want of some breadstuffs,
took advantage of the absence of the Indians to help himself to a suffi¬
ciency of maize, large quantities of which he found concealed in holes
under the wigwams. This village was situated near the present village
of Utica in LaSalle County, Illinois. The corn being securely stored,
the voyagers again betook themselves to the stream, and toward evening,
on the 4th day of January, 1680, they came into a lake which must have
been the lake of Peoria. This was called by the Indians Pim-i-te-wi , that
is, a place where there are many fat beasts . Here the natives were met
with in laige numbers, but they were gentle and kind, and having spent
some time with them, LaSalle determined to erect another fort in that
place, for he had heard rumors that some of the adjoining tribes were
tiying to disturb the good feeling which existed, and some of his men
were disposed to complain, owing to the hardships and perils of the travel.
He called this fort “ Crevecoeur ’ (broken-heart), a name expressive of the
very natural sorrow and anxiety which the pretty certain loss of his ship,
Griffin, and his consequent impoverishment, the danger of hostility on the
part of the Indians, and of mutiny among his own men, might well cause
him. His fears were not entirely groundless. At one time poison was
placed in his food, but fortunately was discovered.
While building this fort, the Winter wore away, the prairies began to
look green, and LaSalle, despairing of any reinforcements, concluded to
return to Canada, raise new means and new men, and embark anew in
the enterprise. For this purpose he made Hennepin the leader of a party
to explore the head waters of the Mississippi, and he set out on his jour¬
ney. This journey was accomplished with the aid of a few persons, and
was successfully made, though over an almost unknown route, and in a
bad season of the year. He safely reached Canada, and set out again for
the object of his search.
Hennepin and his party left Fort Crevecoeur on the last of February,
1680. When LaSalle reached this place on his return expedition, he
found the fort entirely deserted, and he was obliged to return again to
Canada. He embarked the third time, and succeeded. Seven days after
lea zing the fort, Hennepin reached the Mississippi, and paddling up the
icy stream as best he could, reached no higher than the Wisconsin River
b\ the 11th ol April. Here he and his followers were taken prisoners by a
band ol Northern Indians, who treated them with great kindness. Hen¬
nepin’s comrades were Anthony Auguel and Michael Ako. On this voy¬
age they found several beautiful lakes, and “saw some charming prairies.”
Their captors were the Isaute or Sauteurs, Chippewas, a tribe of the Sioux
nation, who took them up the river until about the first of May, when
they leached some falls, which Hennepin christened Falls of St. Anthony
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
27
in honor of his patron saint. Here they took the land, and traveling
nearly two hundred miles to the northwest, brought them to their villages.
Here they were kept about three months, were treated kindly by their
captors, and at the end of that time, were met by a band of Frenchmen,
BUFFALO HUNT.
headed by one Seur de Luth, who, in pursuit of trade and game, had pene¬
trated thus far by the route of Lake Superior; and with these fellow-
countrymen Hennepin and his companions were allowed to return to die
borders of civilized life in November, 1680, just alter LaSalle had
returned to the wilderness on his second trip. Hennepin soon alter vcn
to France, where he published an account of his adventures.
28
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
The Mississippi was first discovered by De Soto in April, 1541, in his
vain endeavor to find gold and precious gems. In the following Spring,
De Soto, weary with hope long deferred, and worn out with his wander¬
ings, he fell a victim to disease, and on the 21st of May died. His followers,
i educed by fatigue and disease to less than three hundred men, wandered
about the country nearly a year, in the vain endeavor to rescue them¬
selves by land, and finally constructed seven small vessels, called brigan¬
tines, in which they embarked, and descending the river, supposing it
would lead them to the sea, in July they came to the sea (Gulf of
Mexico), and by September reached the Island of Cuba.
1 hey y ei e the fiist to see the great outlet of the Mississippi; but,
being so weary and discouraged, made no attempt to claim the country,
and hardly had an intelligent idea of what they had passed through.
To La Salle, the intrepid explorer, belongs the honor of giving the
first account of the mouths of the river. His great desire was to possess
this entire country for his king, and in January, 1682, he and his band of
explorers left the shores of Lake Michigan on their third attempt, crossed
the portage, passed down the Illinois River, and on the 6tli of February,
reached the banks of the Mississippi.
On the 18th they commenced their downward course, which they
pursued with but one interruption, until upon the 6th of March they dis-
coveied the three great passages by which the river discharges its waters
into the gulf. La Salle thus narrates the event:
“ landed on the bank of the most western channel, about three
leagues (nine miles) from its mouth. On the seventh, M. de LaSalle
vent to reconnoiter the shores of the neighboring sea, and M. de Tonti
meanwhile examined the great middle channel. " They found the main
outlets beautiful, large and deep. On the 8th we reascended the river, a
little above its confluence with the sea, to find a dry place beyond the
reach of inundations. The elevation of the North Pole was here about
twenty-seven degrees. Here we prepared a column and a cross, and to
the column v ere affixed the arms of France with this inscription:
Louis Le Grand, Roi De France et de Navarre, regne ; Le neuvieme Avril, 1682.
* The whole party, under arms, chanted the Te Deum , and then, after
a salute and cries ot Vive le Roi,'' the column was erected by M. de
LaSalle, who, standing near it, proclaimed in a loud voice the authority of
the King of F ranee. LaSalle returned and laid the foundations of the Mis¬
sissippi settlements in Illinois, thence he proceeded to France, where
anothei expedition was fitted out, of which he was commander, and in two
succeeding voyages failed to find the outlet of the river by sailing along
the shore of the gulf. On his third voyage he was killed, through the
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
29
treachery of his followers, and the object of his expeditions was not
accomplished until 1699, when D'Iberville, under the authority of the
crown, discovered, on the second of March, by way of the sea, the mouth
of the “Hidden River.” This majestic stream was called by the natives
“ Malbouchia” and by the Spaniards, “ la Paliasade ,” from the great
(
TRAPPING.
number of trees about its mouth. After traversing the several outlets,
and satisfying himself as to its certainty, he erected a tort near its
western outlet, and returned to France.
An avenue of trade was now opened out which was lully improved.
In 1718, New Orleans was laid out and settled by some European colon¬
ists. In 1762, the colony was made over to Spain, to be regained by
France under the consulate of Napoleon. In 1803, it was purchased by
30
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
the United States for the sum of fifteen million dollars, and the territory
of Louisiana and commerce of the Mississippi River came under the
charge of the United States. Although LaSalle's labors ended in defeat
and death, he had not worked and suffered in vain. He had thrown
open to France and the world an immense and most valuable country ;
had established several ports, and laid the foundations of more than one
settlement there. “ Peoria, Kaskaskia and Cahokia, are to this day monu¬
ments of LaSalle’s labors ; for, though he had founded neither of them
(unless Peoria, which was built nearly upon the site of Fort Crevecoeur,)
it was by those whom he led into the West that these places were
peopled and civilized. He was, if not the discoverer, the first settler of
the Mississippi Valley, and as such deserves to be known and honored.”
The French early improved the opening made for them. Before the
year 1698, the Rev. Father Gravier began a mission among the Illinois,
and founded Kaskaskia. For some time this was merely a missionary
station, where none but natives resided, it being one of three such vil¬
la ges, the other two being Cahokia and Peoria. What is known of
these missions is learned from a letter written bv Father Gabriel Marest,
dated “ Aux Cascaskias, autrement dit de lTmmaculate Conception de
la Sainte Vierge, le 9 Novembre, 1712.” Soon after the founding of
Kaskaskia, the missionary, Pinet, gathered a flock at Cahokia, while
Peoria arose near the ruins of Fort Crevecoeur. This must have been
about the year 1700. The post at Vincennes on the Oubache river,
(pronounced Wa-ba, meaning summer cloud moving swiftly ) was estab¬
lished in 1702, according to the best authorities.* It is altogether prob¬
able that on LaSalle’s last trip he established the stations at Kaskaskia
and Cahokia. In July, 1701, the foundations of Fort Ponchartrain
were laid by De la Motte Cadillac on the Detroit River. These sta¬
tions, with those established further north, were the earliest attempts to
occupy the Northwest Territory. At the same time efforts were being
made to occupy the Southwest, which finally culminated in the settle¬
ment and founding of the City of New Orleans by a colony from England
in 1718. This was mainly accomplished through the efforts of the
famous Mississippi Company, established by the notorious John Law,
who so quickly arose into prominence in France, and who with his
scheme so quickly and so ignominiously passed away.
From the time of the founding of these stations for fifty 3rears the
French nation were engrossed with the settlement of the lower Missis¬
sippi, and the war with the Chicasaws, who had, in revenge for repeated
* There is considerable dispute about this date, some asserting it was founded as late as 1742. When
the new court house at Vincennes was erected, all authorities on the subject were carefully examined, and
1702 fixed upon as the correct date. It was accordingly engraved on the corner-stone of the court house.
THE NOKTHWEST TERRITORY.
31
injuries, cut off the entire colony at Natchez. Although the company
did little for Louisiana, as the entire West was then called, yet it opened
the trade through the Mississippi River, and started the raising of grains
indigenous to that climate. Until the year 1750, but little is known of
the settlements in the Northwest, as it was not until this time that the
attention of the English was called to the occupation of this portion of the
New World, which they then supposed they owned. Vivier, a missionary
among the Illinois, writing from “ Aux Illinois," six leagues from Fort
Chartres, June 8, 1750, says: “We have here whites, negroes and
Indians, to say nothing of cross-breeds. There are five French villages,
and three villages of the natives, within a space of twenty-one leagues
situated between the Mississippi and another river called the Karkadaid
(Kaskaskias). In the five French villages are, perhaps, eleven hundred
whites, three hundred blacks and some sixty red slaves or savages. The
three Illinois towns do not contain more than eight hundred souls all
told. Most of the French till the soil; they raise wheat, cattle, pigs and
horses, and live like princes. Three times as much is produced as can
be consumed; and great quantities of grain and flour are sent to New
Orleans.” This city was now the seaport town of the Northwest, and
save in the extreme northern part, where only furs and copper ore were
found, almost all the products of the country found their way to France
by the mouth of the Father of Waters. In another letter, dated Novem¬
ber 7, 1750, this same priest says: “For fifteen leagues above the
mouth of the Mississippi one sees no dwellings, the ground being too low
to be habitable. Thence to New Orleans, the lands are only partially
occupied. New Orleans contains black, white and red, not more, I
think, than twelve hundred persons. To this point come all lumber,
bricks, salt-beef, tallow, tar, skins and bear’s grease ; and above all, pork
and flour from the Illinois. These things create some commerce, as forty
vessels and more have come hither this year. Above New Orleans,
plantations are again met with ; the most considerable is a colony of
Germans, some ten leagues up the river. At Point Coupee, thirty-five
leagues above the German settlement, is a fort. Along here, within live
or six leagues, are not less than sixty habitations. Fifty leagues 1 art her
up is the Natchez post, where we have a garrison, who are kept prisoners
through fear of the Chickasaws. Here and at Point Coupee, they raise
excellent tobacco. Another hundred leagues brings us to the Arkansas,
where we have also a fort and a garrison for the benefit of the river
traders. * * * From the Arkansas to the Illinois, nearly five hundred
leagues, there is not a settlement. There should be, however, a fort at
the Oubache (Ohio), the only path by which the English can reach the
Mississippi. In the Illinois country are numberless mines, but no one to
32
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
work them as they deserve. Father Marest, writing from the post at
Vincennes in 181 2, makes the same observation. Vivier also says : “ Some
individuals dig lead near the surface and supply the Indians and Canada.
Two Spaniards now here, who claim to be adepts, say that our mines are
like those of Mexico, and that if we would dig deeper, we should find
silver under the lead ; and at any rate the lead is excellent. There is also
in this country, beyond doubt, copper ore, as from time to time large
pieces are found in the streams. ”
HUNTING.
At the close of the year 1750, the French occupied, in addition to the
lower Mississippi posts and those in Illinois, one at Du Quesne, one at
the Maumee in the country of the Miamis, and one at Sanduskv in what
may be termed the Ohio Valley. In the northern part of the Northwest
they had stations at St. Joseph’s on the St. Joseph s of Lake Michigan,
at Fort Ponchartrain (Detroit), at Michillimackanac or Massillimacanac,
Fox River of Green Bay, and at Sault Ste. Marie. The fondest dreams of
LaSalle were now fully realized. The French alone were possessors of
this vast realm, basing their claim on discovery and settlement. Another
nation, however, was now turning its attention to this extensive country,
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. ^
and hearing of its wealth, began to lay plans for occupying it and for
securing the great profits arising therefrom.
The French, however, had another claim to this country, namely, the
DISCOVERY OF THE OHIO.
This “ Beautiful” river was discovered by Robert Cavalier de La¬
Salle in 1669, four years before the discovery of the Mississippi by Joliet
and Marquette.
While LaSalle was at his trading post on the St. Lawrence, he found
leisure to study nine Indian dialects, the chief of which was the Iroquois.
He not only desired to facilitate his intercourse in trade, but he longed
to travel and explore the unknown regions of the West. An incident
soon occurred which decided him to fit out an exploring expedition.
While conversing with some Senecas, he learned of a river called the
Ohio, which rose in their country and flowed to the sea, but at such a
distance that it required eight months to reach its mouth. In this state¬
ment the Mississippi and its tributaries were considered as one stream.
LaSalle believing, as most of the French at that period did, that the great
rivers flowing west emptied into the Sea of California, was anxious to
embark in the enterprise of discovering a route across the continent to
the commerce of China and Japan.
He repaired at once to Quebec to obtain the approval of the Gov¬
ernor. His eloquent appeal prevailed. The Governor and the Intendant,
Talon, issued letters patent authorizing the enterprise, but made no pro¬
vision to defray the expenses. At this juncture the seminary of St. Sul-
pice decided to send out missionaries in connection with the expedition,
and LaSalle offering to sell his improvements at LaChine to raise money,
the offer was accepted by the Superior, and two thousand eight hundred
dollars were raised, with which LaSalle purchased four canoes and the
necessary supplies for the outfit.
On the 6th of July, 1669, the party, numbering twenty- four persons,
embarked in seven canoes on the St. Law'rence ; two additional canoes
carried the Indian guides. In three days they were gliding over the
bosom of Lake Ontario. Their guides conducted them directly to the
Seneca village on the bank of the Genesee, in the vicinity of the present
City of Rochester, New York. Here they expected to procure guides to
conduct them to the Ohio, but in this they were disappointed.
The Indians seemed unfriendly to the enterprise. LaSalle suspected
that the Jesuits had prejudiced their minds against his plans. Alter
waiting a month in the hope of gaining their object, they met an Indian
34
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
from the Iroquois colony at the head of Lake Ontario, who assured them
that they could there find guides, and offered to conduct them thence.
On their way they passed the mouth of the Niagara River, when they
heard for the first time the distant thunder of the cataract. Arriving
IROQUOIS CHJLKF.
among the Iroquois, they met with a friendly reception, and learned
from a Shawanee prisoner that they could reach the Ohio in six weeks.
Delighted with the unexpected good fortune, they made ready to resume
their journey ; but just as they wrere about to start they heard of the
arrival of two Frenchmen in a neighboring village. One of them proved
to be Louis Joliet, afterwards famous as an explorer in the West. He
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
35
had been, sent by the Canadian Government to explore the copper mines
on Lake Superior, but had failed, and was on his way back to Quebec.
He gave the missionaries a map of the country he had explored in the
lake region, together with an account of the condition of the Indians in
that quarter. This induced the priests to determine on leaving the
expedition and going to Lake Superior. LaSalle warned them that the
Jesuits were probably occupying that field, and that they would meet
with a cold reception. Nevertheless they persisted in their purpose, and
after worship on the lake shore, parted from LaSalle. On arriving at
Lake Superior, they found, as LaSalle had predicted, the Jesuit Fathers,
Marquette and Dablon, occupying the field. 1356310
These zealous disciples of Loyola informed them that they wanted
no assistance from St. Sulpice, nor from those who made him their patron
saint; and thus repulsed, they returned to Montreal the following June
without having made a single discovery or converted a single Indian.
After parting with the priests, LaSalle went to the chief Iroquois
village at Onondaga, where he obtained guides, and passing thence to a
tributary of the Ohio south of Lake Erie, he descended the latter as far
as the falls at Louisville. Thus was the Ohio discovered by LaSalle, the
persevering and successful French explorer of the West, in 1669.
The account of the latter part of his journey is found in an anony¬
mous paper, which purports to have been taken from the lips of LaSalle
himself during a subsequent visit to Paris. In a letter written to Count
Frontenac in 1667, shortly after the discovery, he himself says that he
discovered the Ohio and descended it to the falls. This was regarded as
an indisputable fact by the French authorities, who claimed the Ohio
Valley upon another ground. When Washington was sent by the colony
of Virginia in 1753, to demand of Gordeur de St. Pierre why the French
had built a fort on the Monongahela, the haughty commandant at Quebec
replied: “We claim the country on the Ohio by virtue of the discoveries
of LaSalle, and will not give it up to the English. Our orders are to
make prisoners of every Englishman found trading in the Ohio Valley.”
ENGLISH EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS.
When the new year of 1750 broke in upon the Father of Waters
and the Great Northwest, all was still wild save at the French posts
already described. In 1749, when the English first began to think seri¬
ously about sending men into the West, the greater portion of the States
of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota were yet
under the dominion of the red men. The English knew, however, pretty
36
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
conclusively of the nature of the wealth of these wilds. As early as
1710, Governor Spotswood, of Virginia, had commenced movements to
secure the country west of the Alleghenies to the English crown. In
Pennsylvania, Governor Keith and James Logan, secretary of the prov¬
ince, from 1719 to 1731, represented to the powers of England the neces¬
sity of securing the Western lands. Nothing was done, however, by that
power save to take some diplomatic steps to secure the claims of Britain
to this unexplored wilderness.
England had from the outset claimed from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
on the ground that the discovery of the seacoast and its possession was a
discovery and possession of the country, and, as is well known, her grants
to the colonies extended “ from sea to sea.” This was not all her claim.
She had purchased from the Indian tribes large tracts of land. This lat¬
ter was also a strong argument. As early as 1684, Lord H oward, Gov¬
ernor of Virginia, held a treaty with the six nations. These were the
great Northern Confederacy, and comprised at first the Mohawks, Onei-
das, Onondagas, Cavugas, and Senecas. Afterward the Tuscaroras were
taken into the confederacy, and it became known as the Six Nations.
They came under the protection of the mother country, and again in
1701, they repeated the agreement, and in September, 1726, a formal deed
was drawn up and signed by the chiefs. The validity of this claim has
often been disputed, but never successfully. In 1744, a purchase was
made at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, of certain lands within the “ Colony of
Virginia,” for which the Indians received £200 in gold and a like sum in
goods, with a promise that, as settlements increased, more should be paid.
The Commissioners from Virginia were Colonel Thomas Lee and Colonel
William Beverly. As settlements extended, the promise of more pay was
called to mind, and Mr. Conrad Weiser was sent across the mountains with
presents to appease the savages. Col. Lee, and some Virginians accompa¬
nied him with the intention of sounding the Indians upon their feelings
regarding the English. They were not satisfied with their treatment,
and plainly told the Commissioners why. The English did not desire the
cultivation of the country, but the monopoly of the Indian trade. In
1748, the Ohio Company was formed, and petitioned the king for a grant
of land beyond the Alleghenies. This was granted, and the government
of Virginia was ordered to grant to them a half million acres, two hun¬
dred thousand of which were to be located at once. Upon the 12th of
June, 1749, 800,000 acres from the line of Canada north and west was
made to the Loyal Company, and on the 29th of October, 1751, 100,000
acres were given to the Greenbriar Company. All this time the French
were not idle. They saw that, should the British gain a foothold in the
West, especially upon the Ohio, they might not only prevent the French
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
Q7
o7
settling upon it, but in time would come to the lower posts and so gain
possession of the whole country. Upon the 10th of May, 1774, Vaud-
reuil, Governor of Canada and the French possessions, well knowing the
consequences that must arise from allowing the English to build trading
posts in the Northwest, seized some of their frontier posts, and to further
secure the claim of the French to the West, he, in 1749, sent Louis Cel¬
eron with a party of soldiers to plant along the Ohio River, in the mounds
and at the mouths of its principal tributaries, plates of lead, on which
were inscribed the claims of France. These were heard of in 1752, and
within the memory of residents now living along the “ Oyo,” as the
beautiful river was called by the French. One of these plates was found
with the inscription partly defaced. It bears date August 16, 1749, and
a copy of the inscription with particular account of the discoverv of the
plate, was sent by DeWitt Clinton to the American Antiquarian Society,
among whose journals it may now be found.* These measures did not,
however, deter the English from going on with their explorations, and
though neither party resorted to arms, yet the conflict was gathering, and
it was only a question of time when the storm would burst upon the
frontier settlements. In 1750, Christopher Gist was sent by the Ohio
Company to examine its lands. He went to a village of the Twigtwees,
on the Miami, about one hundred and fifty miles above its mouth. He
afterward spoke of it as very populous. From there he went down
the Ohio River nearly to the falls at the present City of Louisville,
and in November he commenced a survey of the Company's lands. Dur¬
ing the Winter, General Andrew Lewis performed a similar work for the
Greenbriar Company. Meanwhile the French were busy in preparing
their forts for defense, and in opening roads, and also sent a small party
of soldiers to keep the Ohio clear. This party, having heard of the Eng¬
lish post on the Miami River, early in 1652, assisted by the Ottawas and
Chippewas, attacked it, and, after a severe battle, in which fourteen of
the natives were killed and others wounded, captured the garrison.
(They were probably garrisoned in a block house). The traders were
carried away to Canada, and one account says several were burned. This
fort or post was called by the English Pickawillany. A memorial of the
king’s ministers refers to it as “ Pickawillanes, in the center of the terri¬
tory between the Ohio and the Wabash. The name is probably some
variation of Pickawa}' or Picqua in 1773, written by Rev. David Jones
Pickaweke.”
* The following is a translation of the inscription on the plate: “In the year 1749. reign of Louis XV..
King of France, we, Celeron, commandant of a detachment by Monsieur the Marquis of Gallisonlere, com¬
mander-in-chief of New France, to establish tranquility in certain Indian villages of these cantons, have
buried this plate at the confluence of the Toradakoin, this twenty-ninth of July, near the river Ohio, otherwise
Beautiful River, as a monument of renewal of possession which we have taken of the said river, and all its
tributaries; inasmuch as the preceding Kings of France have enjoyed it, and maintained it by their arms and
treaties; especially by those of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chapelle.”
38
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
This was the first blood shed between the French and English, and
occurred near the present City of Piqua, Ohio, or at least at a point about
forty-seven miles north of Dayton. Each nation became now more inter¬
ested in the progress of events in the Northwest. The English deter¬
mined to purchase from the Indians a title to the lands they wished to
occupy, and Messrs. Fry (afterward Commander-in-chief over Washing¬
ton at the commencement of the French War of 1775-1763), Lomax and
Patton were sent in the Spring of 1752 to hold a conference with the
natives at Logstown to learn what they objected to in the treaty of Lan¬
caster already noticed, and to settle all difficulties. On the 9th of June,
these Commissioners met the red men at Logstown, a little village on the
north bank of the Ohio, about seventeen miles below the site of Pitts¬
burgh. Here had been a trading point for many years, but it was aban¬
doned by the Indians in 1750. At first the Indians declined to recognize
the treaty of Lancaster, but, the Commissioners taking aside Montour,
the interpreter, who was a son of the famous Catharine Montour, and a
chief among the six nations, induced him to use his influence in their
favor. This he did, and upon the 13th of June they all united in signing
a deed, confirming the Lancaster treaty in its full extent, consenting to a
settlement of the southeast of the Ohio, and guaranteeing that it should
not be disturbed by them. These were the means used to obtain the first
treaty with the Indians in the Ohio Valle}7.
Meanwhile the powers beyond the sea were trying to out-manoeuvre
each other, and were professing to be at peace. The English generally
outwitted the Indians, and failed in many instances to fulfill their con¬
tracts. They thereby gained the ill-will of the red men, and further
increased the feeling by failing to provide them with arms and ammuni¬
tion. Said an old chief, at Easton, in 1758: “ The Indians on the Ohio
left you because of your own fault. When we heard the French were
coming, we asked you for help and arms, but we did not get them. The
French came, they treated us kindly, and gained our affections. The
Governor of Virginia settled on our lands for his own benefit, and, when
we wanted help, forsook us.”
At the beginning of 1653, the English thought they had secured by
title the lands in the West, but the French had quietly gathered cannon
and military stores to be in readiness for the expected blow. The Eng¬
lish made other attempts to ratify these existing treaties, but not until
the Summer could the Indians be gathered together to discuss the plans
of the French. They had sent messages to the French, warning them
away ; but they replied that they intended to complete the chain of forts
already begun, and would not abandon the field.
Soon after this, no satisfaction being obtained from the Ohio regard-
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 39
ing the positions and purposes of the French, Governor Dinwiddie of
Virginia determined to send to them another messenger and learn from
them, if possible, their intentions. For this purpose he selected a young
man, a surveyor, who, at the early age of nineteen, had received the rank
of major, and who was thoroughly posted regarding frontier life. This
personage was no other than the illustrious George Washington, who then
held considerable interest in Western lands. He was at this time just
twenty-two years of age. Taking Gist as his guide, the two, accompanied
by four servitors, set out on their perilous march. They left Will’s
Creek on the 10th of November, 1753, and on the 22d reached the Monon-
gahela, about ten miles above the fork. From there they went to
Logstown, where Washington had a long conference with the chiefs of
the Six Nations. From them he learned the condition of the French, and
also heard of their determination not to come down the river till the fol¬
lowing Spring. The Indians were non-committal, as they were afraid to
turn either way, and, as far as they could, desired to remain neutral.
Washington, finding nothing could be done with them, went on to
Venango, an old Indian town at the mouth of French Creek. Here the
French had a fort, called Fort Machault. Through the rum and flattery
of the French, he nearly lost all his Indian followers. Finding1 nothin^
of importance here, he pursued his way amid great privations, and on the
11th of December reached the fort at the head of French Creek. Here
he delivered Governor Dinwiddie’s letter, received his answer, took his
observations, and on the 16tli set out upon his return journey with no one
but Gist, his guide, and a few Indians who still remained true to him,
notwithstanding the endeavors of the French to retain them. Their
homeward journey was one of great peril and suffering from the cold, yet
they reached home in safety on the 6th of January, 1754.
From the letter of St. Pierre, commander of the French fort, sent by
Washington to Governor Dinwiddie, it was learned that the French would
not give up without a struggle. Active preparations were at once made
in all the English colonies for the coming conflict, while the French
finished the fort at Venango and strengthened their lines of fortifications,
and gathered their forces to be in readiness.
The Old Dominion was all alive. Virginia was the center of great
activities ; volunteers were called for, and from all the neighboring
colonies men rallied to the conflict, and everywhere along the Potomac
men were enlisting under the Governor’s proclamation — which promised
two hundred thousand acres on the Ohio. Along this river they were
gathering as far as Will’s Creek, and far beyond this point, whither Trent
had come for assistance for his little band of forty-one men, who were
40
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
working away in hunger and want, to fortify that point at the fork of
the Ohio, to which both parties were looking with deep interest.
“ The first birds of Spring filled the air with their song ; the swift
river rolled by the Allegheny hillsides, swollen by the melting snows of
Spring and the April showers. The leaves were appearing ; a few Indian
scouts were seen, but no enemy seemed near at hand ; and all was so quiet,
that Frazier, an old Indian scout and trader, who had been left by Trent
in command, ventured to his home at the mouth of Turtle Creek, ten
miles up the Monongahela. But, though all was so quiet in that wilder¬
ness, keen eyes had seen the low intrenchment rising at the fork, and
swift feet had borne the news of it up the river ; and upon the morning
of the 17th of April, Ensign Ward, who then had charge of it, saw
upon the Allegheny a sight that made his heart sink— sixty batteaux and
three hundred canoes filled with men, and laden deep with cannon and
stores. * * * That evening he supped with his captor, Contrecoeur,
and the next day he was bowed off by the Frenchman, and with his men
and tools, marched up the Monongahela.”
The French and Indian war had begun. The treaty of Aix la
Chapelle, in 1748, had left the boundaries between the French and
English possessions unsettled, and the events already narrated show the
French were determined to hold the country watered by the Mississippi
and its tributaries ; while the English laid claims to the country by virtue
of the discoveries of the Cabots, and claimed all the country from New¬
foundland to Florida, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The
first decisive blow had now been struck, and the first attempt of the
English, through the Ohio Company, to occupy these lands, had resulted
disastrously to them. The French and Indians immediately completed
the fortifications begun at the Fork, which they had so easily captured,
and when completed gave to the fort the name of DuQuesne. Washing¬
ton was at Will’s Creek when the news of the capture of the fort arrived.
He at once departed to recapture it. On his way he entrenched him¬
self at a place called the “ Meadows,” where he erected a fort called
by him Fort Necessity. From there he surprised and captured a force of
French and Indians marching against him, but was soon after attacked
in his fort by a much superior force, and was obliged to yield on the
morning of July 4th. He was allowed to return to Virginia.
The English Government immediately planned four campaigns ; one
against Fort DuQuesne ; one against Nova Scotia ; one against Fort
Niagara, and one against Crown Point. These occurred during 1755-6,
and were not successful in driving the French from their possessions.
The expedition against Fort DuQuesne was led by the famous General
Braddock, who, refusing to listen to the advice of Washington and those
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
41
acquainted with Indian warfare, suffered such an inglorious defeat. This
occurred on the morning of July 9th, and is generally known as the battle
of Monongahela, or “ Braddock’s Defeat.” The war continued with
various vicissitudes through the years 1756-7 ; when, at the commence¬
ment of 1758, in accordance with the plans of William Pitt, then Secre¬
tary of State, afterwards Lord Chatham, active preparations were made to
carry on the war. Three expeditions were planned for this year : one,
under General Amherst, against Louisburg ; another, under Abercrombie,
against Fort Ticonderoga ; and a third, under General Forbes, against
Fort DuQuesne. On the 26th of July, Louisburg surrendered after a
desperate resistance of more than forty days, and the eastern part of the
Canadian possessions fell into the hands of the British. Abercrombie
captured Fort Frontenac, and when the expedition against Fort DuQuesne,
of which Washington had the active command, arrived there, it was
found in flames and deserted. The English at once took possession,
rebuilt the fort, and in honor of their illustrious statesman, changed the
name to Fort Pitt.
The great object of the campaign of 1759, was the reduction of
Canada. General Wolfe was to lay siege to Quebec ; Amherst was to
reduce Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and General Prideaux was to
capture Niagara. This latter place was taken in July, but the gallant
Prideaux lost his life in the attempt. Amherst captured Ticonderoga
and Crown Point without a blow ; and Wolfe, after making the memor¬
able ascent to the Plains of Abraham, on September 13th, defeated
Montcalm, and on the 18th, the city capitulated. In this engagement
Montcolm and Wolfe both lost their lives. De Levi, Montcalm’s successor,
marched to Sillery, three miles above the city, with the purpose of
defeating the English, and there, on the 28th of the following April, was
fought one of the bloodiest battles of the French and Indian War. It
resulted in the defeat of the French, and the fall of the City of Montreal.
The Governor signed a capitulation by which the whole of Canada was
surrendered to the English. This practically concluded the war, but it
was not until 1763 that the treaties of peace between France and England
were signed. This was done on the 10th of February of that year, and
under its provisions all the country east of the Mississippi and north ol
the Iberville River, in Louisiana, were ceded to England. At the same
time Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain.
On the 13th of September, 1760, Major Robert Rogers was sent
from Montreal to take charge of Detroit, the only remaining French post
in the territory. He arrived there on the 19th of November, and sum¬
moned the place to surrender. At first the commander of the post,
Beletre, refused, but on the 29th, hearing of the continued defeat ol the
42
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
French arms, surrendered. Rogers remained there until December 23d
under the personal protection of the celebrated chief, Pontiac, to whom,
no doubt, he owed his safety. Pontiac had come here to inquire the
purposes of the English in taking possession of the country. He was
assured that they came simply to trade with the natives, and did not
desire their country. This answer conciliated the savages, and did much
to insure the safety of Rogers and his party during their stay, and while
on their journey home.
Rogers set out for Fort Pitt on December 23, and was just one
month on the way. His route was from Detroit to Maumee, thence
across the present State of Ohio directly to the fort. . This was the com¬
mon trail of the Indians in their journeys from Sandusky to the fork of
the Ohio. It went from Fort Sandusky, where Sandusky City now is,
crossed the Huron river, then called Bald Eagle Creek, to “ Mohickon
John’s Town ’ on Mohickon Creek, the northern branch of White
Woman’s River, and thence crossed to Beaver’s Town, a Delaware town
on what is now Sandy Creek. At Beaver’s Town were probably one
hundred and fifty warriors, and not less than three thousand acres of
cleared land. From there the track went up Sandy Creek to and across
Big Beaver, and up the Ohio to Logstown, thence on to the fork.
The Northwest Territory was now entirely under the English rule.
New settlements began to be rapidly made, and the promise of a large
trade was speedily manifested. Had the British carried out their promises
with the natives none of those savage butcheries would have been perpe¬
trated, and the country would have been spared their recital.
The renowned chief, Pontiac, was one of the leading spirits in these
atrocities. We will now pause in our narrative, and notice the leading
events in his life. The earliest authentic information regarding this
noted Indian chief is learned from an account of an Indian trader named
Alexander Henry, who, in the Spring of 1761, penetrated his domains as
far as Missillimacnac. Pontiac was then a great friend of the French,
but a bitter foe of the English, whom he considered as encroaching on his
hunting grounds. Henry was obliged to disguise himself as a Canadian
to insure safety, but was discovered by Pontiac, who bitterly reproached
him and the English for their attempted subjugation of the West. He
declared that no treaty had been made with them; no presents sent
them, and that he would resent any possession of the West by that nation.
He was at the time about fifty years of age, tall and dignified, and was
civil and military ruler of the Ottawas, Ojibwas and Pottawatamies.
The Indians, from Lake Michigan to the borders of North Carolina,
were united in this feeling, and at the time of the treaty of Paris, ratified
February 10, 1763, a general conspiracy was formed to fall suddenly
PONTIAC, THE OTTAWA CHIEFTAIN
44
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
upon the frontier British posts, and with one blow strike every man dead.
Pontiac was the marked leader in all this, and was the commander
of the Chippewas, Ottawas, Wyandots, Miamis, Shawanese, Delawares
and Mingoes, who had, for the time, laid aside their local quarrels to unite
in this enterprise.
The blow came, as near as can now be ascertained, on May 7, 1763.
Nine British posts fell, and the Indians drank, “ scooped up in the hollow
of joined hands,” the blood of many a Briton.
Pontiac s immediate field of action was the garrison at Detroit.
Here, however, the plans were frustrated by an Indian woman disclosing
the plot the evening previous to his arrival. Everything was carried out,
however, according to Pontiac s plans until the moment of action, when
Major Gladwyn, the commander of the post, stepping to one of the Indian
chiefs, suddenly drew aside his blanket and disclosed the concealed
musket. Pontiac, though a brave man, turned pale and trembled. He
saw his plan was known, and that the garrison were prepared. He
endeavored to exculpate himself from any such intentions ; but the guilt
was evident, and he and his followers were dismissed with a severe
reprimand, and warned never to again enter the walls of the post.
Pontiac at once laid siege to the fort, and until the treaty of peace
between the British and the Western Indians, concluded in August, 1764,
continued to harass and besiege the fortress. He organized a regular
commissariat department, issued bills of credit written out on bark,
which, to his credit, it may be stated, were punctually redeemed. At
the conclusion of the treaty, in which it seems he took no part, he went
further south, living many years among the Illinois.
He had given up all hope of saving his country and race. After a
time he endeavored to unite the Illinois tribe and those about St. Louis
in a war with the whites. His efforts were fruitless, and only ended in a
quarrel between himself and some Kaskaskia Indians, one of whom soon
afterwards killed him. His death was, however, avenged by the northern
Indians, who nearly exterminated the Illinois in the wars which followed.
Had it not been for the treachery of a few of his followers, his plan
for the extermination of the whites, a masterly one, would undoubtedly
have been carried out.
It was in the Spring of the year following Rogers’ visit that Alex¬
ander Henry went to Missillimacnac, and everywhere found the strongest
feelings against the English, who had not carried out their promises, and
were doing nothing to conciliate the natives. Here he met the chief,
Pontiac, who, after conveying to him in a speech the idea that their
French father would awake soon and utterly destroy his enemies, said :
“ Englishman, although you have conquered the French, you have not
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
45
yet conquered us ! We are not your slaves! These lakes, these woods,
these mountains, were left us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance,
and we will part with them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like
the white people, can not live without bread and pork and beef. But you
ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided
food for us upon these broad lakes and in these mountains.”
He then spoke of the fact that no treaty had been made with them,
no presents sent them, and that he and his people were yet for war.
Such were the feelings of the Northwestern Indians immediately after
the English took possession of their country. These feelings were no
doubt encouraged by the Canadians and French, who hoped that yet the
French arms might prevail. The treaty of Paris, however, gave to the
English the right to this vast domain, and active preparations were going
on to occupy it and enjoy its trade and emoluments.
In 1762, France, by a secret treaty, ceded Louisiana to Spain, to pre¬
vent it falling into the hands of the English, who were becoming masters
of the entire West. The next year the treaty of Paris, signed at Fon-
tainbleau, gave to the English the domain of the country in question.
Twenty years after, by the treaty of peace between the United States
and England, that part of Canada lying south and west of the Great
Lakes, comprehending a large territory which is the subject of these
sketches, was acknowledged to be a portion of the United States ; and
twenty years still later, in 1803, Louisiana was ceded by Spain back to
France, and by France sold to the United States.
In the half century, from the building of the Fort of Crevecoeur by
LaSalle, in 1680, up to the erection of Fort Chartres, many French set¬
tlements had been made in that quarter. These have already been
noticed, being those at St. Vincent (Vincennes), Kohokia or Cahokia,
Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher, on the American Bottom, a large tract
of rich alluvial soil in Illinois, on the Mississippi, opposite the site of St.
Louis.
By the treaty of Paris, the regions east of the Mississippi, including
all these and other towns of the Northwest, were given over to England;
but they do not appear to have been taken possession of until 1765, when
Captain Stirling, in the name of the Majesty of England, established him¬
self at Fort Chartres bearing with him the proclamation of General Gage,
dated December 30, 1764, which promised religious freedom to all Cath¬
olics who worshiped here, and a right to leave the country with their
effects if they wished, or to remain with the privileges of Englishmen.
It was shortly after the occupancy of the West by the British that the
war with Pontiac opened. It is already noticed in the sketch of that
chieftain. By it many a Briton lost his life, and many a frontier settle-
46
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
ment in its infancy ceased to exist. This was not ended until the year
1764, when, failing to capture Detroit, Niagara and Fort Pitt, his confed¬
eracy became disheartened, and, receiving no aid from the French, Pon¬
tiac abandoned the enterprise and departed to the Illinois, among whom
he afterward lost his life.
As soon as these difficulties were definitely settled, settlers began
rapidly to survey the country and prepare for occupation. During the
year 17 <0, a number of persons from A irginia and other British provinces
explored and marked out nearly all the valuable lands on the Mononga-
hela and along the banks of the Ohio as far as the Little Kanawha. This
was followed by another exploring expedition, in which George Washing¬
ton was a party. The latter, accompanied by Dr. Craik, Capt, Crawford
and others, on the 20th of October, 1770, descended the Ohio from Pitts¬
burgh to the mouth of the Kanawha ; ascended that stream about fourteen
miles, marked out several large tracts of land, shot several buffalo, which
were then abundant in the Ohio Valley, and returned to the fort.
Pittsburgh was at this time a trading post, about which was clus¬
tered a village of some twenty houses, inhabited by Indian traders. This
same year, Capt. Pittman visited Kaskaskia and its neighboring villages.
He found there about sixty-five resident families, and at Cahokia only
forty-five dwellings. At Fort Chartres was another small settlement, and
at Detroit the garrison were quite prosperous and strong. For a year
or two settlers continued to locate near some of these posts, generally
F ort Pitt or Detroit, owing to the fears of the Indians, who still main¬
tained some feelings of hatred to the English. The trade from the posts
was quite good, and from those in Illinois large quantities of pork and
flour found their way to the New Orleans market. At this time the
policy of the British Government was strongly opposed to the extension
of the colonies west. In 1763, the King of England forbade, by royal
proclamation, his colonial subjects from making a settlement beyond the
souices of the rivers which fall into the Atlantic Ocean. At the instance
of the Board of Trade, measures were taken to prevent the settlement
without the limits prescribed, and to retain the commerce within easy
reach of Great Britain.
The commander-in-chief of the king’s forces wrote in 1769 : “ In the
course of a few years necessity will compel the colonists, should they
extend their settlements west, to provide manufactures of some kind for
themselves, and when all connection upheld by commerce with the mother
country ceases, an independency in their government will soon follow.’’
In accordance with this policy, Gov. Gage issued a proclamation
in 1772, commanding the inhabitants of Vincennes to abandon their set¬
tlements and join some of the Eastern English colonies. To this they
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
47
strenuously objected, giving good reasons therefor, and were allowed to
remain. The strong opposition to this policy of Great Britain led to its
change, and to such a course as to gain the attachment of the French
population. In December, 1773, influential citizens of Quebec petitioned
the king for an extension of the boundary lines of that province, which
was granted, and Parliament passed an act on June 2, 1774, extend¬
ing the boundary so as to include the territory lying within the present
States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan.
In consequence of the liberal policy pursued by the British Govern¬
ment toward the French settlers in the West, they were disposed to favor
that nation in the war which soon followed with the colonies ; but the
early alliance between France and America soon brought them to the side
of the war for independence.
In 1774, Gov. Dunmore, of Virginia, began to encourage emigration
to the Western lands. He appointed magistrates at Fort Pitt under the
pretense that the fort was under the government of that commonwealth.
One of these justices, John Connelly, who possessed a tract of land in the
Ohio Valley, gathered a force of men and garrisoned the fort, calling it
Fort Dunmore. This and other parties were formed to select sites for
settlements, and often came in conflict with the Indians, who yet claimed
portions of the valley, and several battles followed. These ended in the
famous battle of Kanawha in July, where the Indians were defeated and
driven across the Ohio.
During the years 1775 and 1776, by the operations of land companies
and the perseverance of individuals, several settlements were firmly estab¬
lished between the Alleghanies and the Ohio River, and western land
speculators were busy in Illinois and on the Wabash. At a council held
in Kaskaskia on July 5, 1773, an association of English traders, calling
themselves the “Illinois Land Company,” obtained from ten chiefs of the
Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Peoria tribes two large tracts of land lying on
the east side of the Mississippi River south of the Illinois. In 1775, a mer¬
chant from the Illinois Country, named Viviat, came to Post Vincennes
as the agent of the association called the “ Wabash Land Company.” On
the 8th of October he obtained from eleven Piankeshaw chiefs, a deed for
37,497,600 acres of land. This deed was signed by the grantors, attested
by a number of the inhabitants of Vincennes, and afterward recorded in
the office of a notary public at Kaskaskia. This and other land com¬
panies had extensive schemes for the colonization of the West; but all
were frustrated by the breaking out of the Revolution. On the 20th ol
April, 1780, the two companies named consolidated under the name of the
“United Illinois and Wabash Land Company.” They afterward made
48
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
strenuous efforts to have these grants sanctioned by Congress, but all
signally failed.
When the War of the Revolution commenced, Kentucky was an unor¬
ganized country, though there were several settlements within her borders.
In Hutchins’ Topography of Virginia, it is stated that at that time
u Kaskaskia contained 80 houses, and nearly 1,000 white and black in¬
habitants — the whites being a little the more numerous. Cahokia con¬
tains 50 houses and 300 white inhabitants, and 80 negroes. There were
east of the Mississippi River, about the year 1771 ” — when these observa¬
tions were made — “ 300 white men capable of bearing arms, and 230
negroes.”
From 1775 until the expedition of Clark, nothing is recorded and
nothing known of these settlements, save what is contained in a report
made by a committee to Congress in June, 1778. From it the following
extract is made :
“Near the mouth of the River Kaskaskia, there is a village which
appears to have contained nearly eighty families from the beginning of
the late revolution. There are twelve families in a small village at la
Prairie du Rochers, and near fifty families at the Kahokia Village. There
are also four or five families at Fort Chartres and St. Philips, which is five
miles further up the river.”
St. Louis had been settled in February, 1764, and at this time con¬
tained, including its neighboring towns, over six hundred whites and one
hundred and fifty negroes. It must be remembered that all the country
west of the Mississippi was now under French rule, and remained so until
ceded again to Spain, its original owner, who afterwards sold it and the
country including New Orleans to the United States. At Detroit there
were, according to Capt. Carver, who was in the Northwest from 1766 to
1768, more than one hundred houses, and the river was settled for more
than twenty miles, although poorly cultivated — the people being engaged
in the Indian trade. This old town has a history, which we will here
relate.
It is the oldest town in the Northwest, having been founded by
Antoine de Lamotte Cadillac, in 1701. It was laid out in the form of an
oblong square, of two acres in length, and an acre and a half in width.
As described by A. D. Frazer, who first visited it and became a permanent
resident of the place, in 1778, it comprised within its limits that space
between Mr. Palmer’s store (Conant Block) and Capt. Perkins’ house
(near the Arsenal building), and extended back as far as the public barn,
and was bordered in front by the Detroit River. It was surrounded by
oak and cedar pickets, about fifteen feet long, set in the ground, and had
four gates — east, west, north and south. Over the first three of these
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
49
gates were block houses provided with four guns apiece, each a six-
pounder. Two six-gun batteries were planted fronting the river and in a
parallel direction with the block houses. There were four streets running-
east and west, the main street being twenty feet wide and the rest fifteen
feet, while the four streets crossing these at right angles were from ten
to fifteen feet in width.
At the date spoken of by Mr. Frazer, there was no fort within the
enclosure, but a citadel on the ground corresponding to the present
northwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Wayne Street. The citadel was
inclosed by pickets, and within it were erected barracks of wood, two
stories high, sufficient to contain ten officers, and also barracks sufficient
to contain four hundred men, and a provision store built of brick. The
citadel also contained a hospital and guard-house. The old town of
Detroit, in 1778, contained about sixty houses, most of them one story,
with a few a story and a half in height. They were all of logs, some
hewn and some round. There was one building of splendid appearance,
called the “ King’s Palace,” two stories high, which stood near the east
gate. It was built for Governor Hamilton, the first governor commissioned
by the British. There were two guard-houses, one near the west gate and
the other near the Government House. Each of the guards consisted of
twenty-four men and a subaltern, who mounted regularly every morning
between nine and ten o’clock, Each furnished four sentinels, who were
relieved every two hours. There was also an officer of the day, who per¬
formed strict duty. Each of the gates was shut regularly at sunset ;
even wicket gates were shut at nine o’clock, and all the keys were
delivered into the hands of the commanding officer. They were opened
in the morning at sunrise. No Indian or squaw was permitted to enter
town with any weapon, such as a tomahawk or a knife. It was a stand¬
ing order that the Indians should deliver their arms and instruments of
every kind before they were permitted to pass the sentinel, and they were
restored to them on their return. No more than twenty-five Indians were
allowed to enter the town at any one time, and they were admitted only
at the east and west gates. At sundown the drums beat, and all the
Indians were required to leave town instantly. There was a council house
near the water side for the purpose of holding council with the Indians.
The population of the town was about sixty families, in all about two
hundred males and one hundred females. This town was destroyed by
fire, all except one dwelling, in 1805. After which the present “new ”
town was laid out.
On the breaking out of the Revolution, the British held every post of
importance in the West. Kentucky was formed as a component part of
Virginia, and the sturdy pioneers of the West, alive to their interests,
50
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
and recognizing the great benefits of obtaining the control of the trade in
this part of the New World, held steadily to their purposes, and those
within the commonwealth of Kentucky proceeded to exercise their
civil privileges, by electing John Todd and Richard Gallaway,
burgesses to represent them in the Assembly of the parent state.
Early in September of that year (1777) the first court was held
in Harrodsburg, and Col. Bowman, afterwards major, who had arrived
in August, was made the commander of a militia organization which
had been commenced the March previous. Thus the tree of loyalty
was growing. The chief spirit in this far-out colony, who had represented
her the year previous east of the mountains, was now meditating a move
unequaled in its boldness. He had been watching the movements of the
British throughout the Northwest, and understood their whole plan. He
saw it was through their possession of the posts at Detroit, Vincennes,
Kaskaskia, and other places, which would give them constant and easy
access to the various Indian tribes in the Northwest, that the British
intended to penetrate the country from the north and south, and annihi¬
late the frontier fortresses. This moving, energetic man was Colonel,
afterwards General, George Rogers Clark. He knew the Indians were not
unanimously in accord with the English, and he was convinced that, could
the British be defeated and expelled from the Northwest, the natives
might be easily awed into neutrality ; and by spies sent for the purpose,
he satisfied himself that the enterprise against the Illinois settlements
might easily succeed. Having convinced himself of the certainty of the
project, he repaired to the Capital of Virginia, which place he reached on
November 5th. While he was on his way, fortunately, on October 17th,
Burgoyne had been defeated, and the spirits of the colonists greatly
encouraged thereby. Patrick Henry was Governor of Virginia, and at
once entered heartily into Clark’s plans. The same plan had before been
agitated in the Colonial Assemblies, but there was no one until Clark
came who was sufficiently acquainted with the condition of affairs at the
scene of action to be able to guide them.
Clark, having satisfied the Virginia leaders of the feasibility of his
plan, received, on the 2d of January, two sets of instructions — one secret,
the other open — the latter authorized him to proceed to enlist seven
companies to go to Kentucky, subject to his orders, and to serve three
months from their arrival in the West. The secret order authorized him
to arm these troops, to procure his powder and lead of General Hand
at Pittsburgh, and to proceed at once to subjugate the country.
With these instructions Clark repaired to Pittsburgh, choosing rather
to raise his men west of the mountains, as he well knew all were needed
in the colonies in the conflict there. He sent Col. W. B. Smith to Hoi-
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
51
ston for the same purpose, but neither succeeded in raising the required
number of men. The settlers in these parts were afraid to leave their
own firesides exposed to a vigilant foe, and but few could be induced to
join the proposed expedition. With three companies and several private
volunteers, Clark at length commenced his descent of the Ohio, which’he
navigated as far as the Falls, where he took possession of and fortified
Corn Island, a small island between the present Cities of Louisville.
Kentucky, and New Albany, Indiana. Remains of this fortification may
yet be found. At this place he appointed Col. Bowman to meet him
with such recruits as had reached Kentucky by the southern route, and
as many as could be spared from the station. Here he announced to
the men their real destination. Having completed his arrangements,
and chosen his party, he left a small garrison upon the island, and on the
i4th of June, duiing a total eclipse of the sun, which to them augured
no good, and which fixes beyond dispute the date of starting, he with
his chosen band, fell down the river. His plan was to go by water as
far as Fort Massac or Massacre, and thence march direct to Kaskaskia.
Here he intended to surprise the garrison, and after its capture go to
Cahokia, then to Vincennes, and lastly to Detroit. Should he fail, lie
intended to march directly to the Mississippi River and cross it into the
Spanish country. Before his start he received two good items of infor¬
mation : one that the alliance had been formed between France and the
United States ; and the other that the Indians throughout the Illinois
country and the inhabitants, at the various frontier posts, had been led to
believe by the British that the u Long Knives ” or Virginians, were the
most fierce, bloodthirsty and cruel savages that ever scalped a foe. With
this impression on their minds, Clark saw that proper management would
cause them to submit at once from fear, if surprised, and then from grati¬
tude would become friendly if treated with unexpected leniency.
The march to Kaskaskia was accomplished through a hot July sun,
and the town reached on the evening of July 4. He captured the fort
near the village, and soon after the village itself by surprise, and without
the loss of a single man or by killing any of the enemy. After sufficientlv
working upon the fears of the natives, Clark told them they were at per¬
fect liberty to worship as they pleased, and to take whichever side of the
great conflict they would, also he would protect them from any barbarity
from British or Indian foe. This had the desired effect, and the inhab¬
itants, so unexpectedly and so gratefully surprised by the unlooked
for turn of affairs, at once swore allegiance to the American arms, and
when Clark desired to go to Cahokia on the 6th of July, they accom¬
panied him, and through their influence the inhabitants of the place
surrendered, and gladly placed themselves under his protection. Thus
52
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
the two important posts in Illinois passed from the hands of the English
into the possession of Virginia.
In the person of the priest at Kaskaskia, M. Gibault, Clark found a
powerful ally and generous friend. Clark saw that, to retain possession
of the Northwest and treat successfully with the Indians within its boun¬
daries, he must establish a government for the colonies he had taken.
St. Vincent, the next important post to Detroit, remained yet to be taken
before the Mississippi Valley was conquered. M. Gibault told him that
he would alone, by persuasion, lead Vincennes to throw off its connection
with England. Clark gladly accepted his offer, and on the 14th of J uly,
in company with a fellow-townsman, M. Gibault started on his mission of
peace, and on the 1st of August returned with the cheerful intelligence
that the post on the 44 Oubache ” had taken the oath of allegiance to
the Old Dominion. During this interval, Clark established his courts,
placed garrisons at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, successfully re-enlisted his
men, sent word to have a fort, which proved the germ of Louisville,
erected at the Falls of the Ohio, and dispatched Mr. Rocheblave, who
had been commander at Kaskaskia, as a prisoner of war to Richmond.
In October the County of Illinois was established by the Legislature
of Virginia, John Todd appointed Lieutenant Colonel and Civil Governor,
and in November General Clark and his men received the thanks of
the Old Dominion through their Legislature.
In a speech a few days afterward, Clark made known fully to the
natives his plans, and at its close all came forward and swore alle¬
giance to the Long Knives. While he was doing this Governor Hamilton,
having made his various arrangements, had left Detroit and moved down
the Wabash to Vincennes intending to operate from that point in reducing
the Illinois posts, and then proceed on down to Kentucky and drive the
rebels from the West. Gen. Clark had, on the return of M. Gibault,
dispatched Captain Helm, of Fauquier County, Virginia, with an attend¬
ant named Henry, across the Illinois prairies to command the fort.
Hamilton knew nothing of the capitulation of the post, and was greatly
surprised on his arrival to be confronted by Capt. Helm, who, standing at
the entrance of the fort by a loaded cannon ready to fire upon his assail¬
ants, demanded upon what terms Hamilton demanded possession of the
fort. Being granted the rights of a prisoner of war, he surrendered to
the British General, who could scarcely believe his eyes when he saw the
force in the garrison.
Hamilton, not realizing the character of the men with whom he was
contending, gave up his intended campaign for the Winter, sent his four
hundred Indian warriors to prevent troops from coming down the Ohio,
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
53
and to annoy the Americans in all ways, and sat quietly down to pass the
Winter. Information of all these proceedings having reached Clark, he
saw that immediate and decisive action was necessary, and that unless
he captured Hamilton, Hamilton would capture him. Clark received the
news on the 29th of January, 1779, and on February 4th, having suffi¬
ciently garrisoned Kaskaskia and Cahokia, he sent down the Mississippi
a “ battoe,” as Major Bowman writes it, in order to ascend the Ohio and
Wabash, and operate with the land forces gathering for the fray.
On the next day, Clark, with his little force of one hundred and
twenty men, set out for the post, and after incredible hard marching
through much mud, the ground being thawed by the incessant spring
rains, on the 22d reached the fort, and being joined by his “ battoe,” at
once commenced the attack on the post. The aim of the American back¬
woodsman was unerring, and on the 24th the garrison surrendered to the
intrepid boldness of Clark. The French were treated with great kind¬
ness, and gladly renewed their allegiance to Virginia. Hamilton was
sent as a prisoner to Virginia, where he was kept in close confinement.
During his command of the British frontier posts, he had offered prizes
to the Indians for all the scalps of Americans they would bring to him,
and had earned in consequence thereof the title “ Hair-buyer General,”
by which he was ever afterward known.
Detroit was now without doubt within easy reach of the enterprising
Virginian, could he but raise the necessary force. Governor Henry being
apprised of this, promised him the needed reinforcement, and Clark con¬
cluded to wait until he could capture and sufficiently garrison the posts.
Had Clark failed in this bold undertaking, and Hamilton succeeded in
uniting the western Indians for the next Spring’s campaign, the West
would indeed have been swept from the Mississippi to the Alleghenv
Mountains, and the great blow struck, which had been contemplated from
the commencement, by the British.
“ But for this small army of dripping, but fearless Virginians, the
union of all the tribes from Georgia to Maine against the colonies might
have been effected, and the whole current of our history changed.”
At this time some fears were entertained by the Colonial Govern¬
ments that the Indians in the North and Northwest were inclining to the
British, and under the instructions of Washington, now Commander-in-
Chief of the Colonial army, and so bravely fighting for American inde¬
pendence, armed forces were sent against the Six Nations, and upon the
Ohio frontier, Col. Bowman, acting under the same general’s orders,
marched against Indians within the present limits of that State. These
expeditions were in the main successful, and the Indians were compelled
to sue for peace.
54
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
During this same year (1779) the famous “ Land Laws” of Virginia
y ere passed. The passage of these laws was of more consequence to the
pioneers of Kentucky and the Northwest than the gaining of a few Indian
conflicts. These laws confirmed in main all grants made, and guaranteed
to all actual settlers their rights and privileges. After providing for the
settlers, the laws provided for selling the balance of the public lands at
forty cents per acre. To carry the Land Laws into effect, the Legislature
sent four Virginians westward to attend to the various claims, over many
of which great confusion prevailed concerning their validity. These
gentlemen opened their court on October 13, 1779, at St. Asaphs, and
continued until April 26, 1780, when they adjourned, having decided
three thousand claims. They were succeeded by the surveyor, who
came in the person of Mr. George May, and assumed his duties on the
10th day of the month whose name he bore. With the opening of the
next year (1780) the troubles concerning the navigation of the Missis¬
sippi commenced. The Spanish Government exacted such measures in
relation to its trade as to cause the overtures made to the United States
to be rejected. The American Government considered they had a right
to navigate its channel. To enforce their claims, a fort was erected below
the mouth of the Ohio on the Kentucky side of the river. The settle¬
ments in Kentucky were being rapidly filled by emigrants. It was dur¬
ing this year that the first seminary of learning was established in the
V est in this young and enterprising Commonwealth.
The settlers here did not look upon the building of this fort in a
friendly manner, as it aroused the hostility of the Indians. Spain had
been friendly to the Colonies during their struggle for independence,
and though for a while this friendship appeared in danger from the
refusal of the free navigation of the river, yet it was finally settled to the
satisfaction of both nations.
The Winter of 1< » 9-80 was one of the most unusually severe ones
ever experienced in the West. The Indians always referred to it as the
** Great Cold.’ Numbers of wild animals perished, and not a few
pioneers lost their lives. The following Summer a party of Canadians
and Indians attacked St. Louis, and attempted to take possession of it
in consequence of the friendly disposition of Spain to the revolting
colonies. They met with such a determined resistance on the part of the
inhabitants, even the women taking part in the battle, that they were
compelled to abandon the contest. They also made an attack on the
settlements in Kentucky, but, becoming alarmed in some unaccountable
manner, they fled the country in great haste.
About this time arose the question in the Colonial Congress con¬
cerning the western lands claimed by Virginia, New York, Massachusetts
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
55
and Connecticut. The agitation concerning this subject finally led New
York, on the 19th of February, 1780, to pass a law giving to the dele¬
gates of that State in Congress the power to cede her western lands for
the benefit of the United States. This law was laid before Congress
during the next month, but no steps were taken concerning it untit Sep¬
tember 6th, when a resolution passed that body calling upon the States
claiming western lands to release their claims in favor of the whole body.
This basis formed the union, and was the first after all of those legislative*
measures which resulted in the creation of the States of Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In December of the same
year, the plan of conquering Detroit again arose. The conquest might
have easily been effected by Clark had the necessary aid been furnished
him. Nothing decisive was done, yet the heads of the Government knew
that the safety of the Northwest from British invasion lay in the capture
and retention of that important post, the only unconquered one in the
territory.
Before the close of the year, Kentucky was divided into the Coun¬
ties of Lincoln, Fayette and Jefferson, and the act establishing the Town
of Louisville was passed. This 'same year is also noted in the annals of
American history as the year in which occurred Arnold’s treason to the
United States.
Virginia, in accordance with the resolution of Congress, on the 2d
day of Januarjq 1781, agreed to yield her western lands to the United
States upon certain conditions, which Congress would not accede to, and
the Act of Cession, on the part of the Old Dominion, failed, nor was
anything farther done until 1783. During all that time the Colonies
were busily engaged in the struggle with the mother country, and in
consequence thereof but little heed was given to the western settlements.
Upon the 16th of April, 1781, the first birth north of the Ohio River of
American parentage occurred, being that of Mary Heckewelder, daughter
of the widely known Moravian missionary, whose band of Christian
Indians suffered in after years a horrible massacre by the hands of the
frontier settlers, who had been exasperated by the murder of several of
their neighbors, and in their rage committed, without regard to humanity,
a deed which forever afterwards cast a shade of shame upon their lives.
For this and kindred outrages on the part of the whites, the Indians
committed many deeds of crueltv which darken the years of 1771 and
1772 in the history of the Northwest.
During the year 1782 a number of battles among the Indians and
frontiersmen occurred, and between the Moravian Indians and the W van-
dots. In these, horrible acts of cruelty were practised on the captives,
many of such dark deeds transpiring under the leadership of the notorious
56
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
frontier outlaw, Simon Girty, whose name, as well as those of his brothers,
was a terror to women and children. These occurred chiefly in the Ohio
valleys. Cotemporary with them were several engagements in Kentucky,
in which the famous Daniel Boone engaged, and who, often by his skill
and knowledge of Indian warfare, saved the outposts from cruel destruc-
INDIANS ATTACKING FRONTIERSMEN.
tion. By the close of the year victory had perched upon the American
banner, and on the 30th of November, provisional articles of peace had
been arranged between the Commissioners of England and her uncon¬
querable colonies. Cornwallis had been defeated on the 19th of October
preceding, and the liberty of America was assured. On the 19th of
April following, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington, peace was
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
57
proclaimed to the army of the United States, and on the 3d of the next
September, the definite treaty which ended our revolutionary struggle
was concluded. By the terms of that treaty, the boundaries of the West
were as follows : On the north the line was to extend along the center of
the Great Lakes ; from the western point of Lake Superior to Long Lake :
thence to the Lake of the Woods; thence to the head of the Mississippi
River; down its center to the 31st parallel of latitude, then on that 'line
east to the head of the Appalachicola River ; down its center to its junc¬
tion with the Flint ; thence straight to the head of St. Mary’s River, and
thence down along its center to the Atlantic Ocean.
Following the cessation of hostilities with England, several posts
were still occupied by the British in the North and West. Among these
was Detroit, still in the hands of the enemy. Numerous engagements
with the Indians throughout Ohio and Indiana occurred, upon whose
lands adventurous whites would settle ere the title had been acquired by
the proper treaty.
To remedy this latter evil, Congress appointed commissioners to
treat with the natives and purchase their lands, and prohibited the set¬
tlement of the territory until this could be done. Before the close of the
year another attempt was made to capture Detroit, which was, however,
not pushed, and Virginia, no longer feeling the interest in the Northwest
she had formerly done, withdrew her troops, having on the 20th of
December preceding authorized the whole of her possessions to be deeded
to the United States. This was done on the 1st of March following, and
the Northwest Territory passed from the control of the Old Dominion.
To Gen. Clark and his soldiers, however, she gave a tract of one hundred
and fifty thousand acres of land, to be situated any where north of the
Ohio wherever they chose to locate them. They selected the region
opposite the falls of the Ohio, where is now the dilapidated village of
Clarksville, about midway between the Cities of New Albany and Jeffer¬
sonville, Indiana.
While the frontier remained thus, and Gen. Haldimand at Detroit
refused to evacuate alleging that he had no orders from his King to do
so, settlers were rapidly gathering about the inland forts. In the Spring
of 1784, Pittsburgh was regularly laid out, and from the journal of Arthur
Lee, who passed through the town soon after on his way to the Indian
council at Fort McIntosh, we suppose it was not very prepossessing in
appearance. He says :
“ Pittsburgh is inhabited almost entirely by Scots and Irish, who
live in paltry log houses, and are as dirty as if in the north of Ireland or
even Scotland. There is a great deal of trade carried on, the goods being
bought at the vast expense of forty-five shillings per pound from Phila-
58
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
delphia and Baltimore. They take in the shops flour, wheat, skins and
money. There are in the town four attorneys, two doctors, and not a
priest of any persuasion, nor church nor chapel.”
Kentucky at this time contained thirty thousand inhabitants, and
was beginning to discuss measures for a separation from Virginia. A
land office was opened at Louisville, and measures were adopted to take
defensive precaution against the Indians who were yet, in some instances,
incited to deeds of violence by the British. Before the close of this year,
1784, the military claimants of land began to occupy them, although no
entries were recorded until 1787.
The Indian title to the Northwest was not yet extinguished. They
held large tracts of lands, and in order to prevent bloodshed Congress
adopted means for treaties with the original owners and provided for the
surveys of the lands gained thereby, as well as for those .north of the
Ohio, now in its possession. On January 31, 1786, a treaty was made
with the Wabash Indians. The treaty of Fort Stanwix had been made
in 1784. That at Fort McIntosh in 1785, and through these much land
was gained. The Wabash Indians, however, afterward refused to comply
with the provisions of the treaty made with them, and in order to compel
their adherence to its provisions, force was used. During the year 1786,
the free navigation of the Mississippi came up in Congress, and caused
various discussions, which resulted in no definite action, only serving to
excite speculation in regard to the western lands. Congress had promised
bounties of land to the soldiers of the Revolution, but owing to the
unsettled condition of affairs along the Mississippi respecting its naviga¬
tion, and the trade of the Northwest, that body had, in 1783, declared
its inability to fulfill these promises until a treaty could be concluded
between the two Governments. Before the close of the year 1786, how¬
ever, it was able, through the treaties with the Indians, to allow some
grants and the settlement thereon, and on the 14th of September Con¬
necticut ceded to the General Government the tract of land known as
the 44 Connecticut Reserve,” and before the close of the following year a
large tract of land north of the Ohio was sold to a company, who at once
took measures to settle it. By the provisions of this grant, the company
were to pay the United States one dollar per acre, subject to a deduction
of one-third for bad lands and other contingencies. They received
750,000 acres, bounded on the south by the Ohio, on the east by the
seventh range of townships, on the west by the sixteenth range, and on
the north by a line so drawn as to make the grant complete without
the reservations. In addition to this, Congress afterward granted 100,000
acres to actual settlers, and 214,285 acres as army bounties under the
resolutions of 1789 and 1790.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
69
While Di. Cutler, one of the agents of the company, was pressing
its claims before Congress, that body was bringing into form an ordinance
for the political and social organization of this Territory. When the
cession was made by Virginia, in 1734, a plan was offered, but rejected.
A motion had been made to strike from the proposed plan the prohibition
of slavery, which prevailed. The plan was then discussed and altered,
and finally passed unanimously, with the exception of South Carolina!
By this proposition, the Territory was to have been divided into states
A PRAIRIE STORM.
by parallels and meridian lines. This, it was thought, would make ten
states, which were to have been named as follows — beginning at the
northwest corner and going southwardly : Sylvania, Michigania, Cher-
sonesus, Assenisipia, Metropotamia, Illenoia, Saratoga, Washington, Poly-
potamia and Pelisipia.
There was a more serious objection to this plan than its category ot
names, — the boundaries. The root of the difficulty was in the resolu¬
tion of Congress passed in October, 1780, which fixed the boundaries
of the ceded lands to be from one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles
60
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
square. These resolutions being presented to the Legislatures of Vir¬
ginia and Massachusetts, they desired a change, and in July, 1786, the
subject was taken up in Congress, and changed to favor a division into
not more than five states, and not less than three. This was approved by
the State Legislature of Virginia. The subject of the Government was
again taken up b}^ Congress in 1786, and discussed throughout that year
and until July, 1787, when the famous “Compact of 1787” was passed,
and the foundation of the government of the Northwest laid. This com¬
pact is fully discussed and explained in the history of Illinois in this book,
and to it the reader is referred.
The passage of this act and the grant to the New England Company
was soon followed by an application to the Government by John Cleves
Symmes, of New Jersey, for a grant of the land between the Miamis.
This gentleman had visited these lands soon after the treaty of 1786, and,
being greatly pleased with them, offered similar terms to those given to the
New England Company. The petition was referred to the Treasurv
Board with power to act, and a contract was concluded the following
year. During the Autumn the directors of the New England Company
were preparing to occupy their grant the following Spring, and upon the
23d of November made arrangements for a party of forty-seven men,
under the superintendency of Gen. Rufus Putnam, to set forward. Six
boat-builders were to leave at once, and on the first of January the sur¬
veyors and their assistants, twenty-six in number, were to meet at Hart¬
ford and proceed on their journey westward ; the remainder to follow as
soon as possible. Congress, in the meantime, upon the 3d of October,
had ordered seven hundred troops for defense of the western settlers, and
to prevent unauthorized intrusions ; and two days later appointed Arthur
St. Clair Governor of the Territory of the Northwest.
AMERICAN SETTLEMENTS.
The civil organization of the Northwest Territory was now com¬
plete, and notwithstanding the uncertainty of Indian affairs, settlers from
the East began to come into the country rapidly. The New England
Company sent their men during the Winter of 1787—8 pressing on over
the Alleghenies by the old Indian path which had been opened into
Braddock s road, and which has since been made a national turnpike
from Cumberland westward. Through the weary winter days they toiled
on, and by April were all gathered on the Yohiogany, where boats had
been built, and at once started for the Muskingum. Here they arrived
on the 7th of that month, and unless the Moravian missionaries be regarded
as the pioneers of Ohio, this little band can justly claim that honor.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
61
Gen. St. Clair, the appointed Governor of the Northwest, not having
yet arrived, a set of laws were passed, written out, and published by
being nailed to a tree in the embryo town, and Jonathan Meigs appointed
to administer them.
Washington in writing of this, the first American settlement in the
Northwest, said : 44 No colony in America was ever settled under
such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at Muskingum.
Information, property and strength will be its characteristics. I know
many of its settlers 2-^6isonally, and there never were men better calcu¬
lated to promote the welfare of such a community.’*
A PIONEER DWELLING.
On the 2d of July a meeting of the directors and agents was held
on the banks of the Muskingum, 44 for the purpose of naming the new¬
born city and its squares.” As yet the settlement was known as the
“Muskingum,” but that was now changed to the name Marietta, in honor
ot Marie Antoinette. The square upon which the block -houses stood
was called 44 Campus Martins ;” square number 19, 44 Capitolium square
number 61, 44 Cecilia ;” and the great road through the covert way, 44 Sacra
Via.'1'’ Two days after, an oration was delivered by James M. Varnum,
who with S. H. Parsons and John Armstrong had been appointed to t lie
judicial bench of the territory on the 16th of October, 1787. On July 9,
Gov. St. Clair arrived, and the colony began to assume form. The act
of 1787 provided two district grades of government for the Northwest,
62
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
under the first of which the whole power was invested in the hands of a
governor and three district judges. This was immediately formed upon
the Governor’s arrival, and the first laws of the colony passed on the 25th
of July. These provided for the organization of the militia, and on the
next day appeared the Governor's proclamation, erecting all that country
that had been ceded by the Indians east of the Scioto River into the
County of Washington. From that time forward, notwithstanding the
doubts yet existing as to the Indians, all Marietta prospered, and on the
2d of September the first court of the territory was held with imposing
ceremonies.
The emigration westward at this time was very great. The com¬
mander at Fort Harmer, at the mouth of the Muskingum, reported four
thousand five hundred persons as having passed that post between Feb¬
ruary and June, 1788 — many of whom would have purchased of the
“Associates," as the New' England Company w*as called, had they been
ready to receive them.
On the 26th of November, 1787, Sy mines issued a pamphlet stating i
the terms of his contract and the plan of sale he intended to adopt. In ■
January, 1788, Matthias Denman, of New' Jersey, took an active interest j
in Symmes’ purchase, and located among other, tracts the sections upon
w'hich Cincinnati has been built. Retaining one-third of this locality, he i
sold the other two-thirds to Robert Patterson and John Filson, and the :
three, about August, commenced to lay out a tow'n on the spot, wrhich
w7as designated as being opposite Licking River, to the mouth of w'hich «
they proposed to have a road cut from Lexington. The naming of the 1
town is thus narrated in the “Western Annals " : — “ Mr. Filson, w7ho had ;
been a schoolmaster, was appointed to name the tow'n, and, in respect to j
its situation, and as if with a prophetic perception of the mixed race that •
were to inhabit it in after days, he named it Losantiville, which, being i
interpreted, means : ville , the town ; anti, against or opposite to ; os, the t
mouth ; X. of Licking."
Meanwhile, in July, Symmes got thirty persons and eight four-horse
teams under way for the West. These reached Limestone (now Mays-
ville) in September, where wrere several persons from Redstone. Here
Mr. Symmes tried to found a settlement, but the great freshet of 1789
caused the “ Point," as it was and is yet called, to be fifteen feet under -
water, and the settlement to be abandoned. The little band of settlers
removed to the mouth of the Miami. Before Symmes and his colony left
the “ Point,’* two settlements had been made on his purchase. The first
w7as by Mr. Stiltes, the original projector of the w'hole plan, wTho, with a
colony of Redstone people, had located at the mouth of the Miami,
whither Symmes went with his Maysville colony. Here a clearing had
.
:
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
63
been made by the Indians owing to the great fertility of the soil. Mr.
Stiltes with his colony came to this place on the 18th of November, 1788,
with twenty-six persons, and, building a block-house, prepared to remain
through the Winter. They named the settlement Columbia. Here they
were kindly treated by the Indians, but suffered greatly from the flood
of 1789.
On the 4th of March, 1789, the Constitution of the United States
went into operation, and on April 30, George Washington was inaug¬
urated President of the American people, and during the next Summer,
an Indian war was commenced by the tribes north of the Ohio. The
President at first used pacific means ; but these failing, he sent General
Harmer against the hostile tribes. He destroyed several villages, but
BREAKING PRAIRIE.
was defeated in two battles, near the present City of Fort Wayne,
Indiana. From this time till the close of 1795, the principal events were
the wars with the various Indian tribes. In 1796, General St. Clair
was appointed in command, and marched against the Indians; but while
he was encamped on a stream, the St. Mary, a branch of the Maumee,
he was attacked and defeated with the loss of six hundred men.
General Wayne was now sent against the savages. In August, 1794,
he met them near the rapids of the Maumee, and gained a complete
victory. This success, followed by vigorous measures, compelled the
Indians to sue for peace, and on the 30th of July, the following year, the
treaty of Greenville was signed by the principal chiefs, by which a large
tract of country was ceded to the United States.
Before proceeding in our narrative, we will pause to notice Fort
Washington, erected in the early part of this war on the site of Cincinnati.
Nearly all of the great cities of the Northwest, and indeed of the
64
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
whole country, have had. their nuclei in those rude pioneer structures,
known as forts or stockades. Thus Forts Dearborn, Washington, Pon-
chartrain, mark the original sites of the now proud Cities of Chicago,
Cincinnati and Detroit. So of most of the flourishing cities east and west
of the Mississippi. Fort Washington, erected by Doughty in 1790, was a
rude but highly interesting structure. It was composed of a number of
strongly-built hewed log cabins. Those designed for soldiers’ barracks
were a story and a half high, while those composing the officers quarters
were more imposing and more conveniently arranged and furnished.
The whole were so placed as to form a hollow square, enclosing about an
acre of ground, with a block house at each of the four angles.
The logs for the construction of this fort were cut from the ground
upon which it was erected. It stood between Third and Fourth Streets
of the present city (Cincinnati) extending east of Eastern Row, now
Broadway, which was then a narrow alley, and the eastern boundary of
of the town as it was originally laid out. On the bank of the river,
immediately in front of the fort, was an appendage of the fort, called the
Artificer’s Yard. It contained about two acres of ground, enclosed by
small contiguous buildings, occupied by workshops and quarters of
laborers. Within this enclosure there was a large two-story frame house,
familiarly called the “Yellow House,” built for the accommodation of
the Quartermaster General. For many years this was the best finished
and most commodious edifice in the Queen City. Fort Washington was
for some time the headquarters of both the civil and military governments
of the Northwestern Territory.
Following the consummation of the treaty various gigantic land spec¬
ulations were entered into by different persons, who hoped to obtain
from the Indians in Michigan and northern Indiana, large tracts of lands.
These were generally discovered in time to prevent the outrageous
schemes from being carried out, and from involving the settlers in war.
On October 27, 1795, the treaty between the United States and Spain
was signed, whereby the free navigation of the Mississippi was secured.
No sooner had the treatv of 1795 been ratified than settlements beoan
O
to pour rapidly into the West. The great event of the year 1796 was the
occupation of that part of the Northwest including Michigan, which was
this year, under the provisions of the treaty, evacuated by the British
forces. The United States, owing to certain conditions, did not feel
justified in addressing the authorities in Canada in relation to Detroit
and other frontier posts. When at last the British authorities were
called to give them up, they at once complied, and General Wayne, who
had done so much to preserve the frontier settlements, and who, before
the year’s close, sickened and died near Erie, transferred his head-
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
65
quarters to the neighborhood of the lakes, where a county named after
him was formed, which included the northwest of Ohio, all of Michigan,
and the northeast of Indiana. During this same year settlements were
formed at the present City of Chillicothe, along the Miami from Middle-
town to Piqua, while in the more distant West, settlers and speculators
began to appear in great numbers. In September, the City of Cleveland
was laid out, and during the Summer and Autumn, Samuel Jackson and
Jonathan Sharpless erected the first manufactory of paper _ the u Red¬
stone Paper Mill”— in the West. St. Louis contained some seventy
houses, and Detroit over three hundred, and. along the river, contiguous
to it, were more than three thousand inhabitants, mostly French Canadians,
Indians and half-breeds, scarcely any Americans venturing yet into that
✓part of the Northwest.
The election of representatives for the territory had taken place,
and on the 4th of February, 1799, they convened at Losantiville — now
known as Cincinnati, having been named so by Gov. St. Clair, and
considered the capital of the Territory — to nominate persons from whom
the members of the Legislature were to be chosen in accordance with
a previous ordinance. This nomination being made, the Assembly
adjourned until the 16th of the following September. From those named
the President selected as members of the council, Henry Vandenburg,
of Vincennes, Robert Oliver, of Marietta, James Findlay and Jacob
Burnett, of Cincinnati, and David Vance, of Vanceville. On the 16th
of September the Territorial Legislature met, and on the 24th the two
houses were duly organized, Henry Vandenburg being elected President
of the Council.
The message of Gov. St. Clair was addressed to the Legislature
September 20th, and on October 13th that body elected as a delegate to
Congress Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison, who received eleven of the votes
cast, being a majority of one over his opponent, Arthur St. Clair, son of
Gen. St. Clair.
The whole number of acts passed at this session, and approved by
the Governor, were thirty-seven — eleven others were passed, but received
his veto. The most important of those passed related to the militia, to
the administration, and to taxation. On the 19th of December this pro¬
tracted session of the first Legislature in the West was closed, and on the
30th of December the President nominated Charles Willing Bryd to the
office of Secretary of the Territory vice Wm. Henry Harrison, elected to
Congress. The Senate confirmed his nomination the next day.
66
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
DIVISION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
The increased emigration to the Northwest, the extent of the domain,
and the inconvenient modes of travel, made it very difficult to conduct
the ordinary operations of government, and rendered the efficient action
of courts almost impossible. To remedy this, it was deemed advisable to
divide the territory for civil purposes. Congress, in 1800, appointed a
committee to examine the question and report some means for its solution.
This committee, on the 3d of March, reported that :
“In the three western countries there has been but one court having
cognizance of crimes, in five years, and the immunity which offenders
experience attracts, as to an asylum, the most vile and abandoned crim¬
inals, and at the same time deters useful citizens from making settlements
in such society. The extreme necesshy of judiciary attention and assist¬
ance is experienced in civil as well as in criminal cases. * * * * To
minister a remedy to these and other evils, it occurs to this committee
that it is expedient that a division of said territory into two distinct and
separate governments should be made ; and that such division be made
by a line beginning at the mouth of the Great Miami River, running
directly north until it intersects the boundary between the United States
and Canada.”
The report was accepted by Congress, and, in accordance with its
suggestions, that body passed an Act extinguishing the Northwest Terri¬
tory, which Act was approved May 7. Among its provisions were these :
“ That from and after July 4 next, all that part of the Territory of
the United States northwest of the Ohio River, which lies to the westward
of a line beginning at a point on the Ohio, opposite to the mouth of the
Kentucky River, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north
until it shall intersect the territorial line between the United States and
Canada, shall, for the purpose of temporary government, constitute a
separate territory, and be called the Indiana Territory.”
After providing for the exercise of the civil and criminal powers of
the territories, and other provisions, the Act further provides:
“ That until it shall otherwise be ordered by the Legislatures of the
said Territories, respectively, Chillicothe on the Scioto River shall be the
seat of government of the Territorv of the United States northwest of the
«/
Ohio River; and that St. Vincennes on the Wabash River shall be the
seat of government for the Indiana Territory.”
Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison was appointed Governor of the Indiana
Territory, and entered upon his duties about a year later. Connecticut
also about this time released her claims to the reserve, and in March a law
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
67
was passed accepting this cession. Settlements had been made upon
thirty-five of the townships in the reserve, mills had been built, and seven
hundred miles of road cut in various directions. On the 3d of November
the General Assembly met at Chillicothe. Near the close of the year,
the first missionary of the Connecticut Reserve came, who found no
township containing more than eleven families. It was upon the first of
October that the secret treaty had been made between Napoleon and the
King of Spain, whereby the latter agreed to cede to France the province
of Louisiana.
In January, 1802, the Assembly of the Northwestern Territory char¬
tered the college at Athens. From the earliest dawn of the western
colonies, education was promptly provided for, and as early as 1787.
newspapers were issued from Pittsburgh and Kentucky, and largely read
throughout the frontier settlements. Before the close of this year, the
Congress of the United States granted to the citizens of the Northwestern
teiritory the formation of a State government. One of the provisions of
the “ compact of 1787” provided that whenever the number of inhabit¬
ants within prescribed limits exceeded 45,000, they should be entitled to
a separate government. The prescribed limits of Ohio contained, from a
census taken to ascertain the legality of the act, more than that number,
and on. the 30th of April, 1802, Congress passed the act defining its limits,
and on the 29th of November the Constitution of the new State of Ohio,
so named from the beautiful river forming its southern boundary, came
into existence. The exact limits of Lake Michigan were not then known,
but the territory now included within the State of Michigan was wholly
within the territory of Indiana.
Gen. Harrison, while residing at Vincennes, made several treaties
with the Indians, thereby gaining large tracts of lands. The next year is
memoiable in the history of the West for the purchase of Louisiana from
France by the United States for $15,000,000. Thus by a peaceful mode,
the domain of the United States was extended over a large tract of
country west of the Mississippi, and was for a time under the jurisdiction
of the Northwest government, and, as has been mentioned in the early
part of this narrative, was called the “New Northwest.” The limits
of this history will not allow a description of its territory. The same year
large grants of land were obtained from the Indians, and the House of
Representatives of the new State of Ohio signed a bill respecting the
College Township in the district of Cincinnati.
Before the close of the year, Gen. Harrison obtained additional
grants of lands from the various Indian nations in Indiana and the present
limits of Illinois, and on the 18th of August, 1804, completed a treatv at
St. Louis, whereby over 51,000,000 acres of lands were obtained from the
68
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
aborigines. Measures were also taken to learn the condition of affairs in
and about Detroit.
C. Jouett, the Indian agent in Michigan, still a part of Indiana Terri¬
tory, reported as follows upon the condition of matters at that post :
“ The Town of Detroit. — The charter, which is for fifteen miles
square, was granted in the time of Louis XIV. of France, and is now,
from the best information I have been able to get, at Quebec. Of those
two hundred and twenty-five acres, only four are occupied by the town
and Fort Lenault. The remainder is a common, except twenty-four
acres, which were added twenty years ago to a farm belonging to Wm.
Macomb. * * * A stockade incloses the town, fort and citadel. The
pickets, as well as the public houses, are in a state of gradual decay. The
streets are narrow, straight and regular, and intersect each other at right
angles. The houses are, for the most part, low and inelegant.”
During this year, Congress granted a township of land for the sup¬
port of a college, and began to offer inducements for settlers in these
wilds, and the country now comprising the State of Michigan began to
fill rapidly with settlers along its southern borders. This same year, also,
a law was passed organizing the Southwest Territory, dividing it into two
portions, the Territory of New Orleans, which city was made the seat of
government, and the District of Louisiana, which was annexed to the
domain of Gen. Harrison.
On the 11th of January, 1805, the Territory of Michigan was formed,
Wm. Hull was appointed governor, with headquarters at Detroit, the
change to take effect on June 30. On the 11th of that month, a fire
occurred at Detroit, which destroyed almost every building in the place.
When the officers of the new territory reached the post, they found it in
ruins, and the inhabitants scattered throughout the country. Rebuild¬
ing, however, soon commenced, and ere long the town contained more
houses than before the fire, and many of them much better built.
While this was being done, Indiana had passed to the second grade
of government, and through her General Assembly had obtained large
tracts of land from the Indian tribes. To all this the celebrated Indian,
Tecum the or Tecumseh, vigorously protested, and it was the main cause
of his attempts to unite the various Indian tribes in a conflict with the
settlers. To obtain a full account of these attempts, the workings of the
British, and the signal failure, culminating in the death of Tecumseh at
the battle of the Thames, and the close of the war of 1812 in the Northwest,
we will step aside in our story, and relate the principal events of his life,
and his connection with this conflict.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
69
TECUMSEH, THE SHAWANOE CHIEFTAIN
TO
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
TECUMSEH, AND THE WAR OF 1812.
This famous Indian chief was bom about the year 1768, not far from
the site of the present City of Piqua, Ohio. His father, Puckeshinwa,
was a member of the Kisopok tribe of the Swanoese nation, and his
mother, Methontaske, was a member of the Turtle tribe of the same
people. They removed from Florida about the middle of the last century
to the birthplace of Tecumseh. In 1774, his father, who had risen to be
chief, was slain at the battle of Point Pleasant, and not long after Tecum¬
seh, by his bravery, became the leader of his tribe. In 1795 he was
declared chief, and then lived at Deer Creek, near the site of the
present City of Urbana. He remained here about one year, when he
returned to Piqua, and in 1798, he went to White River, Indiana. In
1805, he and his brother, Laulewasikan (Open Door), who had announced
himself as a prophet, went to a tract of land on the Wabash River, given
them by the Pottawatomies and Kickapoos. From this date the chief
comes into prominence. He was now about thirty-seven years of age,
was five feet and ten inches in height, was stoutly built, and possessed of
enormous powers of endurance. His countenance was naturally pleas¬
ing, and he was, in general, devoid of those savage attributes possessed
by most Indians. It is stated he could read and write, and had a confi¬
dential secretary and adviser, named Billy Caldwell, a half-breed, who
afterward became chief of the Pottawatomies. He occupied the first
house built on the site of Chicago. At this time, Tecumseh entered
upon the great work of his life. He had long objected to the grants of
land made by the Indians to the whites, and determined to unite all the
Indian tribes into a league, in order that no treaties or grants of land
could be made save by the consent of this confederation.
He traveled constantly, going from north to south ; from the south
to the north, everywhere urging the Indians to this step. He was a
matchless orator, and his burning words had their effect.
Gen. Harrison, then Governor of Indiana, by watching the move¬
ments of the Indians, became convinced that a grand conspiracy was
forming, and made preparations to defend the settlements. Tecumseh's
plan was similar to Pontiac’s, elsewhere described, and to the cunning
artifice of that chieftain was added his own sagacity.
During the year 1809, Tecumseh and the prophet were actively pre¬
paring for the work. In that year, Gen. Harrison entered into a treaty
with the Delawares, Kickapoos, Pottawatomies, Miamis, Eel River Indians
and Weas, in which these tribes ceded to the whites certain lands upon
the Wabash, to all of which Tecumseh entered a bitter protest, averring
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
71
as one principal reason that he did not want the Indians to give up any
lands north and west of the Ohio River.
Tecumseh, in August, 1810, visited the General at Vincennes and
held a council relating to the grievances of the Indians. Becoming unduly
angry at this conference he was dismissed from the village, and soon after
departed to incite the southern Indian tribes to the conflict.
Gen. Harrison determined to move upon the chiefs headquarters at
Tippecanoe, and for this purpose went about sixty-five miles up the
Wabash, where he built Fort Harrison. From this place he went to the
prophet’s town, where he informed the Indians he had no hostile inten¬
tions, provided they were true to the existing treaties. He encamped
near the village early in October, and on the morning of November 7, he
was attacked by a large force of the Indians, and the famous battle of
Tippecanoe occurred. The Indians were routed and their town broken
up. Tecumseh returning not long after, was greatly exasperated at his
brother, the prophet, even threatening to kill him for rashly precipitating
the war, and foiling his (Tecumseh’s) plans.
Tecumseh sent word to Gen. Harrison that he was now returned
from the South, and was ready to visit the President as had at one time
previously been proposed. Gen. Harrison informed him he could not o-o
as a chief, which method Tecumseh desired, and the visit was never
made.
In June of the following year, he visited the Indian agent at
Fort Wayne. Here he disavowed any intention to make a war against
the United States, and reproached Gen. Harrison for marching against his
people. The agent replied to this ; Tecumseh listened with a cold indif¬
ference, and after making a few general remarks, with a haughty air drew
his blanket about him, left the council house, and departed for Fort Mal¬
den, in Upper Canada, where he joined the British standard.
He remained under this Government, doing effective work for the
Crown while engaged in the war of 1812 which now opened. He was,
however, always humane in his treatment of the prisoners, never allow¬
ing his warriors to ruthlessly mutilate the bodies of those slain, or wan¬
tonly murder the captive.
In the Summer of 1813, Perry’s victory on Lake Erie occurred, and
shortly after active preparations were made to capture Malden. On the
27th of September, the American army, under Gen. Harrison, set sail for
the shores of Canada, and in a few hours stood around the ruins of Mal¬
den, from which the British army, under Proctor, had retreated to Sand¬
wich, intending to make its way to the heart of Canada by the Valley of
the Thames. On the 29th Gen. Harrison was at Sandwich, and Gen.
McArthur took possession of Detroit and the territory of Michigan.
72
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
On the 2d of October, the Americans began their pursuit of Proctor,
whom they overtook on the 5th, and the battle of the Thames followed.
Early in the en^ao'ement, Tecumseli who was at the head of the column
of Indians was slain, and they, no longer hearing the voice of their chief¬
tain, fled. The victory was decisive, and practically closed the war in
the Northwest*
INDIANS ATTACKING A STOCKADE.
Just who killed the great chief has been a matter of much dispute ;
but the weight of opinion awards the act to Col. Richard M. Johnson,
who fired at him with a pistol, the shot proving fatal.
In 1805 occurred Burr’s Insurrection. He took possession of a
beautiful island in the Ohio, after the killing of Hamilton, and is charged
by many with attempting to set up an independent government. His
plans were frustrated by the general government, his property confiscated
and he was compelled to flee the country for safety.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
73
In January, 1807, Governor Hull, of Michigan Territory, made a
treaty with the Indians, whereby all that peninsula was ceded to the
United States. Before the close of the year, a stockade was built about
Detroit. It was also during this year that Indiana and Illinois endeavored
to obtain the repeal of that section of the compact of 1787, whereby
slavery was excluded from the Northwest Territory. These attempts,
however, all signally failed.
In 1809 it was deemed advisable to divide the Indiana Territory.
This was done, and the Territory of Illinois was formed from the western
part, the seat of government being fixed at Kaskaskia. The next year,
the intentions of Tecumseh manifested themselves in open hostilities, and
then began the events already narrated.
While this war was in progress, emigration to the West went on with
surprising rapidity. In 1811, under Mr. Roosevelt of New York, the
first steamboat trip was made on the Ohio, much to the astonishment of
the natives, many of whom fled in terror at the appearance of the
“ monster.” It arrived at Louisville on the 10th day of October. At the
close of the first week of January, 1812, it arrived at Natchez, after being
nearly overwhelmed in the great earthquake which occurred while on its
downward trip.
The battle of the Thames was fought on October 6, 1813. It
effectually closed hostilities in the Northwest, although peace was not
fully restored until July 22, 1814, when a treaty was formed at Green¬
ville, under the direction of General Harrison, between the United States
and the Indian tribes, in which it was stipulated that the Indians should
cease hostilities against the Americans if the war were continued. Such,
happily, was not the case, and on the 24th of December the treaty
of Ghent was signed by the representatives of England and the United
States. This treaty was followed the next year by treaties with various
Indian tribes throughout the West and Northwest, and quiet was again
restored in this part of the new world.
On the 18th of March, 1816, Pittsburgh was incorporated as a city.
It then had a population of 8,000 people, and was already noted for its
manufacturing interests. On April 19, Indiana Territory was allowed
to form a state government. At that time there were thirteen counties
organized, containing about sixty-three thousand inhabitants. The first
election of state officers was held in August, when Jonathan Jennings
was chosen Governor. The officers were sworn in on November 7, and
on December 11, the State was formally admitted into the Union. For
some time the seat of government was at Corydon, but a more central
location being desirable, the present capital, Indianapolis (City of Indiana),
was laid out January 1, 1825.
74
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
On the 28th of December the Bank of Illinois, at Shawneetown, was
chartered, with a capital of $300,000. At this period all banks were
under the control of the States, and were allowed to establish branches
at different convenient points.
Until this time Chillicothe and Cincinnati had in turn enjoyed the
privileges of being the capital of Ohio. But the rapid settlement of the
northern and eastern portions of the State demanded, as in Indiana, a
more central location, and before the close of the year, the site of Col¬
umbus was selected and surveyed as the future capital of the State.
Banking had begun in Ohio as early as 1808, when the first bank was
chartered at Marietta, but here as elsewhere it did not bring to the state
the hoped-for assistance. It and other banks were subsequently unable
to redeem their currency, and were obliged to suspend.
In 1818, Illinois was made a state, and all the territory north of her
northern limits was erected into a separate territory and joined to Mich¬
igan for judicial purposes. By the following year, navigation of the lakes
was increasing with great rapidity and affording an immense source of
revenue to the dwellers in the Northwest, but it was not until 1826 that
the trade was extended to Lake Michigan, or that steamships began to
navigate the bosom of that inland sea.
Until the year 1832, the commencement of the Black Hawk War,
but few hostilities were experienced with the Indians. Roads were
opened, canals were dug, cities were built, common schools were estab¬
lished, universities were founded, many of which, especially the Michigan
University, have achieved a world wide-reputation. The people were
becoming wealthy. The domains of the United States had been extended,
and had the sons of the forest been treated with honesty and justice, the
record of many years would have been that of peace and continuous pros¬
perity.
BLACK HAWK AND THE BLACK HAWK WAR.
This conflict, though confined to Illinois, is an important epoch in
the Northwestern history, being the last war with the Indians in this. part
of the United States.
Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah, or Black Hawk, was born in the principal
Sac village, about three miles from the junction of Rock River with the
Mississippi, in the year 1767. His father’s name was Py-e-sa or Pahaes ;
his grandfather's, Na-na-ma-kee, or the Thunderer. Black Hawk early
distinguished himself as a warrior, and at the age of fifteen was permitted
to paint and was ranked among the braves. About the year 1783, he
went on an expedition against the enemies of his nation, the Osages, one
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
75
BLACK HAWK, THE SAC CHIEFTAIN
76
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
of whom he killed and scalped, and for this deed of Indian bravery he was
permitted to join in the scalp dance. Three or four years after he, at the
head of two hundred braves, went on another expedition against the
Osages, to avenge the murder of some women and children belonging to
his own tribe. Meeting an equal number of Osage warriors, a fierce
battle ensued, in which the latter tribe lost one-half their number. The
Sacs lost only about nineteen warriors. He next attacked the Cherokees
for a similar cause. In a severe battle with them, near the present City
of St. Louis, his father was slain, and Black Hawk, taking possession of
the “ Medicine Bag,'’ at once announced himself chief of the Sac nation.
He had now conquered the Cherokees, and about the year 1800, at the
head of five hundred Sacs and Foxes, and a hundred Iowas, he waged
war against the Osage nation and subdued it. For two years he battled
successfully with other Indian tribes, all of whom he conquered.
Black Hawk does not at any time seem to have been friendly to
the Americans. When on a visit to St. Louis to see his “ Spanish
Father/' he declined to see any of the Americans, alleging, as a reason,
he did not want two fathers.
The treaty at St. Louis was consummated in 1804. The next year the
United States Government erected a fort near the head of the Des Moines
Rapids, called Fort Edwards. This seemed to enrage Black Hawk, who
at once determined to capture Fort Madison, standing on the west side of
the Mississippi above the mouth of the Des Moines River. The fort was
garrisoned by about fifty men. Here he was defeated. The difficulties
with the British Government arose about this time, and the War of 1812
followed. That government, extending aid to the Western Indians, by
giving them arms and ammunition, induced them to remain hostile to the
Americans. In August, 1812, Black Hawk, at the head of about five
hundred braves, started to join the British forces at Detroit, passing on
his way the site of Chicago, where the famous Fort Dearborn Massacre
had a few days before occurred. Of his connection with the British
Government but little is known. In 1813 he with his little band descended
the Mississippi, and attacking some United States troops at Fort Howard
was defeated.
In the early part of 1815, the Indian tribes west of the Mississippi
were notified that peace had been declared between the United States
and England, and nearly all hostilities had ceased. Black Hawk did not
sign any treaty, however, until May of the following year. He then recog¬
nized the validity of the treaty at St. Louis in 1804. From the time of
signing this treaty in 1816, until the breaking out of the war in 1832, he
and his band passed their time in the common pursuits of Indian life.
Ten years before the commencement of this war, the Sac and Fox
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 77
Indians were urged to join the Iowas on the west bank of the Father of
Waters. All were agreed, save the band known as the British Band, of
which Black Hawk was leader. He strenuously objected to the removal,
and was induced to comply only after being threatened with the power of
the Government. This and various actions on the part of the white set¬
tlers provoked Black Hawk and his band to attempt the capture of his
native village now occupied by the whites. The war followed. He and
his actions were undoubtedly misunderstood, and had his wishes been
acquiesced in at the beginning of the struggle, much bloodshed would
have been prevented.
Black Hawk was chief now of the Sac and Fox nations, and a noted
warrior. He and his tribe inhabited a village on Rock River, nearly three
miles above its confluence with the Mississippi, where the tribe had lived
many generations. When that portion of Illinois was reserved to them,
they remained in peaceable possession of their reservation, spending their
time in the enjoyment of Indian life. The fine situation of their village
and the quality of their lands incited the more lawless white settlers, who
from time to time began to encroach upon the red men’s domain. From
one pretext to another, and from one step to another, the crafty white
men gained a foothold, until through whisky and artifice they obtained
deeds from many of the Indians for their possessions. The Indians were
finally induced to cross over the Father of Waters and locate among the
Iowas. Black Hawk was strenuously opposed to all this, but as the
authorities of Illinois and the United States thought this the best move, he
was forced to comply. Moreover other tribes joined the whites and urged
the removal. Black Hawk would not agree to the terms of the treaty
made with his nation for their lands, and as soon as the military, called to
enforce his removal, had retired, he returned to the Illinois side of the
river. A large force was at once raised and marched against him. On
the evening of May 14, 1832, the first engagement occurred between a
band from this army and Black Hawk’s band, in which the former were
defeated.
This attack and its result aroused the whites. A large force of men
was raised, and Gen. Scott hastened from the seaboard, by way of the
lakes, with United States troops and artillery to aid in the subjugation of
the Indians. On the 24th of June, Black Hawk, with 200 warriors, was
repulsed by Major Demont between Rock River and Galena. The Ameri¬
can army continued to move up Rock River toward the main body of
the Indians, and on the 21st of July came upon Black Hawk and his band,
and defeated them near the Blue Mounds.
Before this action, Gen. Henry, in command, sent word to the main
army by whom he was immediately rejoined, and the whole crossed the
78
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
Wisconsin in pursuit of Black Hawk and his band who were fleeing to the
Mississippi. They were overtaken on the 2d of August, and in the battle
which followed the power of the Indian chief was completely broken. He
fled, but was seized by the Winnebagoes and delivered to the whites.
On the 21st of September, 1832, Gen. Scott and Gov. Reynolds con¬
cluded a treaty with the Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes by which they
ceded to the United States a vast tract of country, and agreed to remain
peaceable with the whites. For the faithful performance of the provi¬
sions of this treaty on the part of the Indians, it was stipulated that
Black Hawk, his two sons, the prophet Wabokieshiek, and six other chiefs
of the hostile bands should be retained as hostages during the pleasure
of the President. They were confined at Fort Barracks and put in irons.
The next Spring, by order of the Secretary of War, they were taken
to Washington. From there they were removed to Fortress Monroe,
“there to remain until the conduct of their nation was such as to justify
their being set at liberty.” They were retained here until the 4th of
June, when the authorities directed them to be taken to the principal
cities so that they might see the folly of contending against the white
people. Everywhere they were observed by thousands, the name of the
old chief being extensively known. By the middle of August they
reached Fort Armstrong on Rock Island, where Black Hawk was soon
after released to go to his countrymen. As he passed the site of his birth¬
place, now the home of the white man, he was deeply moved. His village
where he was born, where he had so happily lived, and where he had
hoped to die, was now another’s dwelling place, and he was a wanderer.
On the next day after his release, he went at once to his tribe and
his lodge. His wife was yet living, and with her he passed the remainder
of his days. To his credit it may be said that Black Hawk always re¬
mained true to his wife, and served her with a devotion uncommon among
the Indians, living with her upward of forty years.
Black Hawk now passed his time hunting and fishing. A deep mel¬
ancholy had settled over him from which he could not be freed. At all
times when he visited the whites he was received with marked atten¬
tion. He was an honored guest at the old settlers’ reunion in Lee County,
Illinois, at some of their meetings, and received many tokens of esteem.
In September, 1838, while on his way to Rock Island to receive his
annuity from the Government, he contracted a severe cold which resulted
in a fatal attack of bilious fever which terminated his life on October 3.
His faithful wife, who was devotedly attached to him, mourned deeply
during his sickness. After his death he was dressed in the uniform pre¬
sented to him by the President while in Washington. He was buried in
a grave six feet in depth, situated upon a beautiful eminence. “ The
i
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
79
body was placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting posture, upon a
seat constructed for the purpose. On his left side, the cane, given him
by Henry Clay, was placed upright, with his right hand resting upon it.
Many of the old warrior s trophies were placed in the grave, and some
Indian garments, together with his favorite weapons.’*
No sooner was the Black Hawk Avar concluded than settlers began
rapidly to pour into the northern parts of Illinois, and into Wisconsin,
now free from Indian depredations. Chicago, from a trading post, had
grown to a commercial center, and was rapidly coming into prominence.
In 1835, the formation of a State Government in Michigan Avas discussed,
but did not take active form until two years later, Avhen the State became
a part of the Federal Union.
The main attraction to that portion of the NortliAvest lying Avest of
Lake Michigan, now included in the State of Wisconsin, Avas its alluvial
wealth. Copper ore was found about Lake Superior. For some time this
region was attached to Michigan for judiciary purposes, but in 183b Avas
made a territory, then including Minnesota and IoAva. The latter State
was detached tAAm years later. In 1848, Wisconsin Avas admitted as a
State, Madison being made the capital. We have now traced the various
divisions of the NortliAvest Territory (save a little in Minnesota) from
the time it Avas a unit comprising this vast territory, until circumstances
compelled its present division.
OTHER INDIAN TROUBLES.
Before leaving this part of the narrative, Ave will narrate briefly the
Indian troubles in Minnesota and elseAvhere by the Sioux Indians.
In August, 1862, the Sioux Indians living on the Avestern borders of
Minnesota fell upon the unsuspecting settlers, and in a feAv hours mas¬
sacred ten or twelve hundred persons. A distressful panic was the
immediate result, fully thirty thousand persons fleeing from their homes
to districts supposed to be better protected. The military authorities
at once took active measures to punish the savages, and a large number
were killed and captured. About a year after, Little CroAv, the chief,
was killed by a Mr. Lampson near Scattered Lake. Of those captured,
thirty were hung at Mankato, and the remainder, through fears of mob
violence, were removed to Camp McClellan, on the outskirts of the City
/ of Davenport. It was here that Big Eagle came into prominence and
secured his release by the following order :
80
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
BIG EAGLE
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
81
“ SPecial 0rder’ No- 48°- “ War Department.
‘ Adjutant General s Office, Washington, Dec. 3, 1864.
“ Big Eagle, an Indian now in confinement at Davenport, Iowa.
wi , upon the receipt of this order, be immediately released from confine-
ment and set at liberty.
“ BJ order of the President of the United States.
“ Official : “ E. D. Townsend, Ass’t Adj’t Gen.
“Capt. James Vanderventer, Corn y Sub. Vols.
“ Through Com’g Gen’l, Washington, D. C:”
Another Indian who figures more prominently than Big Ea/'le and
who was more cowardly in his nature, with his band of Modoc Indians
is noted in the annals of the New Northwest: we refer to Captain Jack.
This distinguished Indian, noted for his cowardly murder of Gen Canby
was a chief of a Modoc tribe of Indians inhabiting the border lands
between California and Oregon. This region of country comprises what
is known as the “ Lava Beds,” a tract of land described as utterly impene¬
trable, save by those savages who had made it their home.
The Modocs are known as an exceedingly fierce and treacherous
race. They had, according to their own traditions, resided here for many
generations, and at one time were exceedingly numerous and powerful.
A famine carried off nearly half their numbers, and disease, indolence
and the vices of the white man have reduced them to a poor, weak and
insignificant tribe.
Soon after the settlement of California and Oregon, complaints began
to be heard of massacres of emigrant trains passing through the Modoc
country. In 1847, an emigrant train, comprising eighteen souls, was en¬
tirely destroyed at a place since known as “ Bloody Point.” These occur¬
rences caused the United States Government to appoint a peace commission,
who, after repeated attempts, in 1864, made a treaty with the Modocs.
Snakes and Klamaths, in which it was agreed on their part to remove to
a leseivation set apart for them in the southern part of Oregon.
With, the exception of Captain Jack and a band of his followers, who
remained at Clear Lake, about six miles from Klamath, all the Indians
complied. The Modocs who went to the reservation were under chief
Schonchin. Captain Jack remained at the lake without disturbance
until 1869, when he was also induced to remove to the reservation. The
Modocs and the Klamaths soon became involved in a quarrel, and Captain
Jack and his band returned to the Lava Beds.
Several attempts were made by the Indian Commissioners to induce
them to return to the reservation, and finally becoming involved in a
82
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
difficulty with the commissioner and his military escort, a fight ensued,
in which the chief and his band were routed. They were greatly enraged,
and on their retreat, before the day closed, killed eleven inoffensive whites.
The nation was aroused and immediate action demanded. A com¬
mission was at once appointed by the Government to see what could be
done. It comprised the following persons : Gen. E. R. S. Canbv, Rev.
Dr. E. Thomas, a leading Methodist divine of California ; Mr. A. B.
Meacham, Judge Rosborough, of California, and a Mr. Dyer, of Oregon.
After several interviews, in which the savages were always aggressive,
often appearing with scalps in their belts, Bogus Charley came to the
commission on the evening of April 10, 1873, and informed them that
Capt. Jack and his band would have a 44 talk ” to-morrow at a place near
Clear Lake, about three miles distant. Here the Commissioners, accom¬
panied by Charley, Riddle, the interpreter, and Boston Charley repaired.
After the usual greeting the council proceedings commenced. On behalf
of the Indians there were present: Capt. Jack, Black Jim, Schnac Nasty
Jim, Ellen’s Man, and Hooker Jim. They had no guns, but carried pis¬
tols. After short speeches by Mr. Meacham, Gen. Canby and Dr. Thomas,
Chief Schonchin arose to speak. He had scarcely proceeded when,
as if by a preconcerted arrangement, Capt. Jack drew his pistol and shot
Gen. Canby dead. In less than a minute a dozen shots were fired by the
savages, and the massacre completed. Mr. Meacham was shot by Schon¬
chin, and Dr. Thomas by Boston Charley. Mr. Dyer barely escaped, being-
fired at twice. Riddle, the interpreter, and his squaw escaped. The
troops rushed to the spot where they found Gen. Canby and Dr. Thomas
dead, and Mr. Meacham badly wounded. The savages had escaped to
their impenetrable fastnesses and could not be pursued.
The whole country was aroused by this brutal massacre ; but it was
not until the following May that the murderers were brought to justice.
At that time Boston Charley gave himself up, and offered to guide the
troops to Capt. Jack's stronghold. This led to the capture of his entire
aano-, a number of whom were murdered by Oregon volunteers while on
their way to trial. The remaining Indians were held as prisoners until
July when their trial occurred, which led to the conviction of Capt.
Jack, Schonchin, Boston Charley, Hooker Jim, Broncho, alias One-Eyed
Jim, and Slotuck, who were sentenced to be hanged. These sentences
were approved by the President, save in the case of Slotuck and Broncho
whose sentences were commuted to imprisonment for life. The otlieis
were executed at Fort Klamath, October 3, 1873.
These closed the Indian troubles for a time in the Northwest, and for
several years the borders of civilization remained in peace. They weie
again involved in a conflict with the savages about the country of the
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
CAPTAIN JACK, THE MODOC CHIEFTAIN
84
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
Black Hills, in which war the gallant Gen. Custer lost his life. Just
now the borders of Oregon and California are again in fear of hostilities ;
but as the Government has learned how to deal with the Indians, they
will be of short duration. The red man is fast passing away before the
march of the white man, and a few more generations will read of the
Indians as one of the nations of the past.
The Northwest abounds in memorable places. We have generally
noticed them in the narrative, but our space forbids their description in
detail, save of the most important places. Detroit, Cincinnati, Vincennes,
Kaskaskia and their kindred towns have all been described. But ere we
leave the narrative we will present our readers with an account of the
Kinzie house, the old landmark of Chicago, and the discovery of the
source of the Mississippi River, each of which may well find a place in
the annals of the Northwest.
Mr. John Kinzie, of the Kinzie house, represented in the illustra¬
tion, established a trading house at Fort Dearborn in 1804. The stockade
had been erected the year previous, and named Fort Dearborn in honor
of the Secretary of War. It had a block house at each of the two angles,
on the southern side a sallyport, a covered way on the north side, that led
down to the river, for the double purpose of providing means of escape,
and of procuring water in the event of a siege.
Fort Dearborn stood on the south bank of the Chicago River, about
half a mile from its mouth. When Major Whistler built it, his soldiers
hauled all the timber, for he had no oxen, and so economically did he
work that the fort cost the Government only fifty dollars. For a while
the garrison could get no grain, and Whistler and his men subsisted on
acorns. Now Chicago is the greatest grain center in the world.
Mr. Kinzie bought the hut of the first settler, Jean Baptiste Point au
Sable, on the site of which he erected his mansion. Within an inclosure
in front he planted some Lombardy poplars, seen in the engraving, and in
the rear he soon had a fine garden and growing orchard.
In 1812 the Kinzie house and its surroundings became the theater
of stirring events. The garrison of Fort Dearborn consisted of fifty-four
men, under the charge of Capt. Nathan Heald, assisted by Lieutenant
Lenai T. Helm (son-in-law to Mrs. Kinzie), and Ensign Ronan. The
surgeon was Dr. Voorhees. The only residents at the post at that time
were the wives of Capt. Heald and Lieutenant Helm and a few of the
soldiers, Mr. Kinzie and his family, and a few Canadian voyagers with their
wives and children. The soldiers and Mr. Kinzie were on the most
friendly terms with the Pottawatomies and the Winnebagoes, the prin¬
cipal tribes around them, but they could not win them from their attach¬
ment to the British.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
85
After the battle of Tippecanoe it was observed that some of the lead¬
ing chiefs became sullen, for some of their people had perished in that
conflict with American troops.
One evening in April, 1812, Mr. Kinzie sat playing his violin and his
childien were dancing to the music, when Mrs. Kinzie came rushing into
the house pale with terror, and exclaiming, “ The Indians ! the Indians ! ”
“ What? Where ? ” eagerly inquired Mr. Kinzie. “ Up at Lee’s, killing
and scalping,” answered the frightened mother, who, when the alarm was
given, was attending Mrs. Burns, a newly-made mother, living not far off.
KINZIE HOUSE.
Mr. Kinzie and his family crossed the river in boats, and took refuge in
the fort, to which place Mrs. Burns and her infant, not a day old, were
conveyed in safety to the shelter of the guns of Fort Dearborn, and the
rest of the white inhabitants fled. The Indians were a scalping party of
Winnebagoes, who hovered around the fort some days, when they dis¬
appeared, and for several weeks the inhabitants were not disturbed by
alarms.
Chicago was then so deep in the wilderness, that the news of the
declaration of war against Great Britain, made on the 19th of June, 1812,
did not reach the commander of the garrison at Fort Dearborn till the 7th
of August. Now the fast mail train will carry a man from New York to
Chicago in twenty-seven hours, and such a declaration might be sent,
every word, by the telegraph in less than the same number of minutes.
VILLAGE KESIDENCE.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
87
PRESENT CONDITION OF THE NORTHWEST
Preceding chapters have brought us to the close of the Black Hawk
wai, and we now tuin to the contemplation of the growth and prosperity
of the Northwest under the smile of peace and the blessings of our civili¬
zation. Ihe pioneers of this region date events back to the deep snow
A REPRESENTATIVE PIONEER.
of 1831, no one arriving here since that date taking first honors. The
inciting cause of the immigration which overflowed the prairies early in
the ’30s was the reports of the marvelous beauty and fertility of the
region distributed through the East by those who had participated in the
Black Hawk campaign with Gen. Scott. Chicago and Milwaukee then
had a few hundred inhabitants, and Gurdon S. Hubbard’s trail from the
former city to Kaskaskia led almost through a wilderness. Vegetables
and clothing were largely distributed through the regions adjoining the
88
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
lakes by steamers from the Ohio towns. There are men now living in
Illinois who came to the state when barely an acre was in cultivation,
and a man now prominent in the business circles of Chicago looked over
the swampy, cheerless site of that metropolis in 1818 and went south¬
ward into civilization. Emigrants from Pennsylvania in 1880 left behind
them but one small railway in the coal regions, thirty miles in length,
and made their way to the Northwest mostly with ox teams, finding in
Northern Illinois petty settlements scores of miles apart, although the
southern portion of the state was fairly dotted with farms. The
water courses of the lakes and rivers furnished transportation to the
second great army of immigrants, and about 1850 railroads were
pushed to that extent that the crisis of 1887 was precipitated upon us,
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
89
from the effects of which the Western country had not fully recovered
at the outbreak of the war. Hostilities found the colonists of the prairies
fully alive to the demands of the occasion, and the honor of recruiting
£3
the vast armies of the Union fell largely to Gov. Yates, of Illinois, and
Gov. Morton, of Indiana. To recount the share of the glories of the
campaign won by e,ii‘ Western troops is a needless task, except to
mention the fact that Illinois gave go the nation the President who saved
90
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
it, and sent out at the head of one of its regiments tne general who led
its armies to the final victory at Appomattox. The struggle, on the
FARM VIEW IN WINTER.
whole, had a marked effect for the better on the new Northwest, giving
it an impetus which twenty years of peace would not have produced.
In a large degree this prosperity was an inflated one, and with the rest
of the Union we have since been compelled to atone therefor by foui
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
91
SPUING SCENE
PIONEERS FIRST WINTER
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
93
years of depression of values, of scarcity of employment, and loss of
foitune. To a less degiee, however, than the manufacturing' or mining
regions has the West suffered during the prolonged panic now so near its
end. Agriculture, still the leading feature in our industries, has been
quite prosperous through all these dark years*, and the farmers have
cleared away many incumbrances resting over them from the period of
fictitious values. The population lias steadily increased, the arts and
sciences are gaining a stronger foothold, the trade area of the region is
becoming daily more extended, and we have been largely exempt from
the financial calamities which have nearly wrecked communities on the
seaboard dependent wholly on foreign commerce or domestic manufacture.
At the present period there are no great schemes broached for the
Northwest, no propositions for government subsidies or national works
of improvement, but the capital of the world is attracted hither for the
purchase of our products or the expansion of our capacity for serving the
nation at large. A new era is dawning as to transportation, and we bid
fair to deal almost exclusively with the increasing and expanding lines
of steel rail running through every few miles of territory on the prairies.
The lake marine will no doubt continue to be useful in the warmer
season, and to serve as a regulator of freight rates; but experienced
navigators forecast the decay of the system in moving to the seaboard
the enormous crops of the West. Within the past five years it has
become quite common to see direct shipments to Europe and the West
Indies going through from the second-class towns along the Mississippi
and Missouri.
As to popular education, the standard has of late risen very greatly,
and our schools would be creditable to any section of the Union.
More and more as the events of the war pass into obscurity will the
fate of the Northwest be linked with that of the Southwest, and the
next Congressional apportionment will give the valley of the Mississippi
absolute control of the legislation of the nation, and do much toward
securing the removal of the Federal capitol to some more central location.
Our public men continue to wield the full share of influence pertain¬
ing to their rank in the national autonomy, and seem not to forget that
for the past sixteen years they and their constituents have dictated the
principles which should govern the country.
In a work like this, destined to lie on the shelves of the library for
generations, and not doomed to daily destruction like a newspaper, one
can not indulge in the same glowing predictions, the sanguine statements
of actualities that fill the columns of ephemeral publications. Time may
bring grief to the pet projects of a writer, and explode castles erected on
a pedestal of facts. Yet there are unmistakable indications before us of
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
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THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
95
the same radical change in our great Northwest which characterizes its
history for the past thirty years. Our domain has a sort of natural
geographical border, save where it melts away to the southward in the
cattle raising districts of the southwest.
Our prime interest will for some years doubtless be the growth of
the food of the world, in which branch it has already outstripped all
competitors, and our great rival in this duty will naturally be the fertile
plains of Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado, to say nothing of the new
empire so rapidly growing up in Texas. Over these regions there is a
continued progress in agriculture and in railway building, and we must
look to our laurels. Intelligent observers of events are fully aware of
the strides made in the way of shipments of fresh meats to Europe,
many of these ocean cargoes being actually slaughtered in the West and
transported on ice to the wharves of the seaboard cities. That this new
enterprise will continue there is no reason to doubt. There are in
Chicago several factories for the canning of prepared meats for European
consumption, and the orders for this class of goods are already immense.
English capital is becoming daily more and more dissatisfied with railway
loans and investments, and is gradually seeking mammoth outlays in
lands and live stock. The stock yards in Chicago, Indianapolis and East
St. Louis are yearly increasing their facilities, and their plant steadily
grows more valuable. Importations of blooded animals from the pro¬
gressive countries of Europe are destined to greatly improve the quality
of our beef and mutton. Nowhere is there to be seen a more enticing
display in this line than at our state and county fairs, and the interest
in the matter is on the increase.
To attempt to give statistics of our grain production for 1877 would
be useless, so far have we surpassed ourselves in the quantity and
quality of our product. We are too liable to forget that we are giving
the world its first article of necessity — its food supply. An opportunity
to learn this fact so it never can be forgotten was afforded at Chicago at
the outbreak of the great panic of 1873, when Canadian purchasers,
fearing the prostration of business might bring about an anarchical condition
of affairs, went to that city with coin in bulk and foreign drafts to secure
their supplies in their own currency at first hands. It may be justly
claimed by the agricultural community that their combined efforts gave
the nation its first impetus toward a restoration of its crippled industries,
and their labor brought the gold premium to a lower depth than the
government was able to reach by its most intense efforts of legislation
and compulsion. The hundreds of millions about to be disbursed for
farm products have already, by the anticipation common to all commercial
96
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
nations, set the wheels in motion, and will relieve us from the perils so
long shadowing our efforts to return to a healthy tone.
Manufacturing has attained in the chief cities a foothold which bids
fair to render the Northwest independent of the outside world. Nearly
our whole region has a distribution of coal measures which will in time
support the manufactures necessary to our comfort and prosperity. As
to transportation, the chief factor in the ju'oduction of all articles except
food, no section is so magnificently endowed, and our facilities are yearly
increasing beyond those of any other region.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
97
The period from a central point of the war to the outbreak of the
panic was marked by a tremendous growth in our railway lines, but the
depression of the times caused almost a total suspension of operations.
Now that prosperity is returning to our stricken country we witness its
anticipation by the railroad interest in a series of projects, extensions,
and leases which bid fair to largely increase our transportation facilities.
The process of foreclosure and sale of incumbered lines is another matter
to be considered. In the case of the Illinois Central road, which formerly
transferred to other lines at Cairo the vast burden of freight destined for
the Gulf region, we now see the incorporation of the tracks connecting
through to New Orleans, every mile co-operating in turning toward the
northwestern metropolis the weight of the inter-state commerce of a
thousand miles or more of fertile plantations. Three competing routes
to Texas have established in Chicago their general freight and passenger
agencies. Four or five lines compete for all Pacific freights to a point as
as far as the interior of Nebraska. Half a dozen or more splendid bridge
structures have been thrown across the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers by
the railways. The Chicago and Northwestern line has become an aggre¬
gation of over two thousand miles of rail, and the Chicago, Milwaukee
and St. Paul is its close rival in extent and importance. The three lines
running to Cairo via Vincennes form a through route for all traffic with
the states to the southward. The chief projects now under discussion
are the Chicago and Atlantic, which is to unite with lines now built to
Charleston, and the Chicago and Canada Southern, which line will con¬
nect with all the various branches of that Canadian enterprise. Our
latest new road is the Chicago and Lake Huron, formed of three lines,
and entering the city from Valparaiso on the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne
and Chicago track. The trunk lines being mainly in operation, the
progress made in the way of shortening tracks, making air-line branches,
and running extensions does not show to the advantage it deserves, as
this process is constantly adding new facilities to the established order
of things. The panic reduced the price of steel to a point where the
railways could hardly afford to use iron rails, and all our northwestern
lines report large relays of Bessemer track. The immense crops now
being moved have given a great rise to the value of railway stocks, and
their transportation must result in heavy pecuniary advantages.
Few are aware of the importance of the wholesale and jobbing trade
of Chicago. One leading firm has since the panic sold $24,000,000 of
dry goods in one year, and they now expect most confidently to add
seventy per cent, to the figures of their last year’s business. In boots
and shoes and in clothing, twenty or more great firms from the east have
placed here their distributing agents or their factories ; and in groceries
98
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
Chicago supplies the entire Northwest at rates presenting advantages
over New York.
Chicago has stepped in between New York and the rural banks as a
financial center, and scarcely a banking institution in the grain or cattle
regions but keeps its reserve funds in the vaults of our commercial insti¬
tutions. Accumulating here throughout the spring and summer months,
they are summoned home at pleasure to move the products of the
prairies. This process greatly strengthens the northwest in its financial
operations, leaving home capital to supplement local operations on
behalf of home interests.
It is impossible to forecast the destiny of this grand and growing
section of the Union. Figures and predictions made at this date might
seem ten years hence so ludicrously small as to excite only derision.
ILLINOIS.
Length, 380 miles, mean width about 156 miles. Area, 55,410 square
miles, or 35,462,400 acres. Illinois, as regards its surface, constitutes a
table-land at a varying elevation ranging between 350 and 800 feet above
the sea level ; composed of extensive and highly fertile prairies and plains.
Much of the south division of the State, especially the river-bottoms, are
thickly wooded. The prairies, too, have oasis-like clumps of trees
scattered here and there at intervals. The chief rivers irrigating the
State are the Mississippi — dividing it from Iowa and Missouri — the Ohio
(forming its south barrier), the Illinois, Wabash, Kaskaskia, and San¬
gamon, with their numerous affluents. The total extent of navigable
streams is calculated at 4,000 miles. Small lakes are scattered over vari¬
ous parts of the State. Illinois is extremely prolific in minerals, chiefly
coal, iron, copper, and zinc ores, sulphur and limestone. The coal-field
alone is estimated to absorb a full third of the entire coal-deposit of North
America. Climate tolerably equable and healthy ; the mean temperature
standing at about 51° Fahrenheit As an agricultural region, Illinois takes
a competitive rank with neighboring States, the cereals, fruits, and root-
crops yielding plentiful returns; in fact, as a grain-growing State, Illinois
may be deemed, in proportion to her size, to possess a greater area of
lands suitable for its production than any other State in the Union. Stock-
raising is also largely carried on, while her manufacturing interests in
regard of woolen fabrics, etc., are on a very extensive and yearly expand¬
ing scale. The lines of railroad in the State are among the most exten¬
sive of the Union. Inland water-carriage is facilitated by a canal
connecting the Illinois River with Lake Michigan, and thence with the
St. Lawrence and Atlantic. Illinois is divided into 102 counties ; the
chief towns being Chicago, Springfield (capital), Alton, Quincy, Peoria,
Galena, Bloomington, Rock Island, Vandalia, etc. By the new Consti¬
tution, established in 1870, the State Legislature consists of 51 Senators,
elected for four years, and 153 Representatives, for two years ; which
numbers were to be decennially increased thereafter to the number of
six per every additional half-million of inhabitants. Religious and
educational institutions are largely diffused throughout, and are in a very
flourishing condition. Illinois has a State Lunatic and a Deaf and Dumb
Asylum at Jacksonville ; a State Penitentiary at Joliet; and a Home for
(99)
100
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
Soldiers' Orphans at Normal. On November 30, 1870, the public debt of
the State was returned at $4,870,937, with a balance of $1,808,833
unprovided for. At the same period the value of assessed and equalized
property presented the following totals: assessed, $840,031,703 ; equal¬
ized $480,664,058. The name of Illinois, through nearly the whole of
the eighteenth century, embraced most of the known regions north and
west of Ohio. French colonists established themselves in 1673, at
Cahokia and Kaskaskia, and the territory of which these settlements
formed the nucleus was, in 1763, ceded to Great Britain in conjunction
with Canada, and ultimately resigned to the United States in 1787.
Illinois entered the Union as a State, December 3, 1818; and now sends
19 Representatives to Congress. Population, 2,539,891, in 1870.
’feUiSLU
A WESTERN DWELLING.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
101
INDIANA.
The profile of Indiana forms a nearly exact parallelogram, occupy¬
ing one of the most fertile portions of the great Mississippi Valley. The
greater extent of the surface embraced within its limits consists of gentle
undulations rising into hilly tracts toward the Ohio bottom. The chief
rivers of the State are the Ohio and Wabash, with their numerous
affluents. The soil is highly productive of the cereals and grasses — most
particularly so in the valleys of the Ohio, Wabash, Whitewater, and
White Rivers. The northeast and central portions are well timbered
with virgin forests, and the west section is notably rich in coal, constitut¬
ing an offshoot of the great Illinois carboniferous field. Iron, copper,
marble, slate, gypsum, and various clays are also abundant. From an
agricultural point of view, the staple products are maize and wheat, with
the other cereals in lesser yields ; and besides these, flax, hemp, sorghum,
hops, etc., are extensively raised. Indiana is divided into 92 counties,
and counts among her principal cities and towns, those of Indianapolis
(the capital), Fort Wayne, Evansville, Terre Haute, Madison, Jefferson¬
ville, Columbus, Vincennes, South Bend, etc. The public institutions of
the State are many and various, and on a scale of magnitude and
efficiency commensurate with her important political and industrial status.
Upward of two thousand miles of railroads permeate the State in all
directions, and greatly conduce to the development of her expanding
manufacturing interests. Statistics for the fiscal year terminating
October 31, 1870, exhibited a total of receipts, -$3,896,541 as against dis¬
bursements, $3,532,406, leaving a balance, $364,135 in favor of the State
Treasury. The entire public debt, January 5, 1871, $3,971,000. This
State was first settled by Canadian voyageurs in 1702, who erected a fort
at Vincennes; in 1763 it passed into the hands of the English, and was
by the latter ceded to the United States in 1783. From 1788 till 1791,
an Indian warefare prevailed. In 1800, all the region west and north of
Ohio (then formed into a distinct territory) became merged in Indiana.
In 1809, the present limits of the State were defined, Michigan and
Illinois having previously been withdrawn. In 1811, Indiana was the
theater of the Indian War of Tecumseh, ending with the decisive battle
of Tippecanoe. In 1816 (December 11), Indiana became enrolled among
the States of the American Union. In 1834, the State passed through a
monetary crisis owing to its having become mixed up with railroad,
canal, and other speculations on a gigantic scale, which ended, lor the
time being, in a general collapse of public credit, and consequent bank¬
ruptcy. Since that time, however, the greater number of the public
102
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
works which had brought about that imbroglio — especially the great
Wabash and Erie Canal — have been completed, to the great benefit of
the State, whose subsequent progress has year by year been marked by
rapid strides in the paths of wealth, commerce, and general social and
political prosperity. The constitution now in force was adopted in 1851.
Population, 1,680,637.
I O W A .
In shape, Iowa presents an almost perfect parallelogram ; has a
length, north to south, of about 300 miles, by a pretty even width of 208
miles, and embraces an area of 55,04 5 square miles, or 35,228,800 acres.
The surface of the State is generally undulating, rising toward the
middle into an elevated plateau which forms the “ divide of the
Missouri and Mississippi basins. Rolling prairies, especially in the south
section, constitute a regnant feature, and the river bottoms, belted with
woodlands, present a soil of the richest alluvion. Iowa is well watered ;
the principal rivers being the Mississippi and Missouri, which form
respectively its east and west limits, and the Cedar, Iowa, and Des
Moines, affluents of the first named. Miner alogically, Iowa is important
as occupying a section of the great Northwest coal field, to the extent of
an area estimated at 25,000 square miles. Lead, copper, zinc, and iron,
are also mined in considerable quantities. The soil is well adapted to
the production of wheat, maize, and the other cereals ; fruits, vegetables,
and esculent roots ; maize, wheat, and oats forming the chief staples.
Wine, tobacco, hops, and wax, are other noticeable items of the agricul¬
tural yield. Cattle-raising, too, is a branch of rural industry largely
engaged in. The climate is healthy, although liable to extremes of heat
and cold. The annual gross product of the various manufactures carried
on in this State approximate, in round numbers, a sum of $20,000,000.
Iowa has an immense railroad system, besides over 500 miles of water-
communication by means of its navigable rivers. The State is politically
divided into 99 counties, with the following centers of population : Des
Moines (capital), Iowa City (former capital), Dubuque, Davenport, Bur¬
lington, Council Bluffs, Keokuk, Muscatine, and Cedar Rapids. The
State institutions of Iowa — religious, scholastic, and philanthropic — are
on a par, as regards number and perfection of organization and operation,
with those of her Northwest sister States, and education is especially
well cared for, and largely diffused. Iowa formed a portion of the
American territorial acquisitions from France, by the so-called Louisiana
purchase in 1803, and was politically identified with Louisiana till 1812,
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
103
when it merged into the Missouri Territory; in 1834 it came under the
Michigan organization, and, in 1836, under that of Wisconsin. Finally,
after being constituted an independent Territory, it became a State of
the Union, December 28, 1846. Population in 1860, 674,913 ; in 1870,
1,191,792, and in 1875, 1,353,118.
MICHIGAN.
United area, 56,243 square miles, or 35,995,520 acres. Extent of the
Upper and smaller Peninsula — length, 316 miles; breadth, fluctuating
between 36 and 120 miles. The south division is 416 miles long, by from
50 to 300 miles wide. Aggregate lake-shore line, 1,400 miles. The
Upper, or North, Peninsula consists chiefly of an elevated plateau,
expanding into the Porcupine mountain-system, attaining a maximum
height of some 2,000 feet. Its shores along Lake Superior are eminently
bold and picturesque, and its area is rich in minerals, its product of
copper constituting an important source of industry. Both divisions are
heavily wooded, and the South one, in addition, boasts of a deep, rich,
loamy soil, throwing up excellent crops of cereals and other agricultural
produce. The climate is generally mild and humid, though the Winter
colds are severe. The chief staples of farm husbandry include the cereals,
grasses, maple sugar, sorghum, tobacco, fruits, and dairy-stuffs. In 1870,
the acres of land in farms were : improved, 5,096,939 ; unimproved
woodland, 4,080,146 ; other unimproved land, 842,057. The cash value
of land was $398,240,578; of farming implements and machinery,
$13,711,979. In 1869, there were shipped from the Lake Superior ports,
874,582 tons of iron ore, and 45,762 of smelted pig, along with 14,188
tons of copper (ore and ingot). Coal is another article largely mined.
Inland communication is provided for by an admirably organized railroad
system, and by the St. Mary’s Ship Canal, connecting Lakes Huron and
Superior. Michigan is politically divided into 78 counties; its chief
urban centers are Detroit, Lansing (capital), Ann Arbor, Marquette,
Bay City, Niles, Ypsilanti, Grand Haven, etc. The Governor of the
State is elected biennially. On November 30, 1870, the aggregate bonded
debt of Michigan amounted to $2,385,028, and the assessed valuation of
land to $266,929,278, representing an estimated cash value of $800,000,000.
Education is largely diffused and most excellently conducted and pro¬
vided for. The State University at Ann Arbor, the colleges of Detroit
and Kalamazoo, the Albion Female College, the State Normal School at
Ypsilanti, and the State Agricultural College at Lansing, are chief among
the academic institutions. Michigan (a term of Chippeway origin, and
104
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
signifying “ Great Lake), was discovered and first settled by French
Canadians, who, in 1670, founded Detroit, the pioneer of a series of trad¬
ing-posts on the Indian frontier. During the “ Conspiracy of Pontiac,
following the French loss of Canada, Michigan became the scene of a
sanguinary struggle between the whites and aborigines. In 1796, it
became annexed to the United States, which incorporated this region
with the Northwest Territory, and then with Indiana Territory, till 1803,
when it became territorially independent. Michigan was the theater of
warlike operations during the war of 1812 with Great Britain, and in
1819 was authorized to be represented by one delegate in Congress ; in
1837 she was admitted into the Union as a State, and in 1869 ratified the
15th Amendment to the Federal Constitution. Population, 1,184,059.
WISCONSIN.
It has a mean length of 260 miles, and a maximum breadth of 215.
Land area, 53,924 square miles, or 34,511,360 acres. Wisconsin lies at a
considerable altitude above sea-level, and consists for the most part of an
upland plateau, the surface of which is undulating and very generally
diversified. Numerous local eminences called mounds are interspersed
over the State, and the Lake Michigan coast-line is in many parts char¬
acterized by lofty escarped cliffs, even as on the west side the banks of
the Mississippi form a series of high and picturesque bluffs. A group of
islands known as The Apostles lie off the extreme north point of the
State in Lake Superior, and the great estuary of Green Bay, running far
inland, gives formation to a long, narrow peninsula between its waters
and those of Lake Michigan. The river-system of Wisconsin has three
outlets — those of Lake Superior, Green Bay, and the Mississippi, which
latter stream forms the entire southwest frontier, widening at one point
into the large watery expanse called Lake Pepin. Lake Superior receives
the St. Louis, Burnt Wood, and Montreal Rivers; Green Bay, the
Menomonee, Peshtigo, Oconto, and Fox; while into the Mississippi
empty the St. Croix, Chippewa, Black, Wisconsin, and Rock Rivers.
The chief interior lakes are those of Winnebago, Horicon, and Court
Oreilles, and smaller sheets of water stud a great part of the surface.
The climate is healthful, with cold Winters and brief but very warm
Summers. Mean annual rainfall 31 inches. The geological system
represented by the State, embraces those rocks included between the
primary and the Devonian series, the former containing extensive
deposits of copper and iron ore. Besides these minerals, lead and zinc
are found in great quantities, together with kaolin, plumbago, gypsum,
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
105
and various clays. Mining, consequently, forms a prominent industry,
and one of yearly increasing dimensions. The soil of Wisconsin is of
varying quality, but fertile on the whole, and in the north parts of the
State heavily timbered. The agricultural yield comprises the cereals,
together with flax, hemp, tobacco, pulse, sorgum, and all kinds of vege¬
tables, and of the hardier fruits. In 1870, the State had a total number
of 102,904 farms, occupying 11,715,321 acres, of which 5,899,343 con¬
sisted of improved land, and 3,437,442 were timbered. Cash value of
farms, $300,414,064 ; of farm implements and machinery, $14,239,364.
Total estimated value of all farm products, including betterments and
additions to stock, $78,027,032 ; of orchard and dairy stuffs, $1,045,933 ;
of lumber, $1,327,618 ; of home manufactures, $338,423 ; of all live-stock,
$45,310,882. Number of manufacturing establishments, 7,136, employ¬
ing 39,055 hands, and turning out productions valued at $85,624,966.
The political divisions of the State form 61 counties, and the chief places
of wealth, trade, and population, are Madison (the capital), Milwaukee,
Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Prairie du Chien, Janesville, Portage City,
Racine, Kenosha, and La Crosse. In 1870, the total assessed valuation
reached $333,209,838, as against a true valuation of both real and personal
estate aggregating $602,207,329. Treasury receipts during 1870, $886,-
696; disbursements, $906,329. Value of church property, $4,149,983.
Education is amply provided for. Independently of the State University
at Madison, and those of Galesville and of Lawrence at Appleton, and
the colleges of Beloit, Racine, and Milton, there are Normal Schools at
Platteville and Whitewater. The State is divided into 4,802 common
school districts, maintained at a cost, in 1870, of $2,094,160. I he chari¬
table institutions of Wisconsin include a Deal and Dumb Asylum, an
Institute for the Education of the Blind, and a Soldiers’ Orphans' School.
In January, 1870, the railroad system ramified throughout the State
totalized 2,779 miles of track, including several lines far advanced toward
completion. Immigration is successfully encouraged by the State author¬
ities, the larger number of yearly new-comers being of Scandinavian and
German origin. The territory now occupied within the limits ot the
State of Wisconsin was explored by French missionaries and traders in
1639, and it remained under French jurisdiction until 1703, when it
became annexed to the British North American possessions. In 1796, it
reverted to the United States, the government of which latter admitted
it within the limits of the Northwest Territory, and in 1809, attached it
to that of Illinois, and to Michigan in 1818. Wisconsin became independ¬
ently territorially organized in 1836, and became a State ol the l nion,
March 3, 1847. Population in 1870, 1,064,985, of which 2,113 were of
the colored race, and 11,521 Indians, 1,206 of the latter being out ot
tribal relations.
106
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY,
MINNESOTA.
Its length, north to south, embraces an extent of 380 miles ; its
breadth one of 250 miles at a maximum. Area, 84,000 square miles, or
54,760,000 acres. The surface of Minnesota, generally speaking, con¬
sists of a succession of gently undulating plains and prairies, drained by
an admirable water-system, and with here and there heavily'- timbered
bottoms and belts of virgin forest. The soil, corresponding with such a
superfices, is exceptionally rich, consisting for the most part of a dark,
calcareous sandy drift intermixed with loam. A distinguishing physical
feature of this State is its riverine ramifications, expanding in nearly
every part of it into almost innumerable lakes — the whole presenting an
aggregate of water-power having hardly a rival in the Union. Besides
the Mississippi — which here has its rise, and drains a basin of 800 miles
of country — the principal streams are the Minnesota (334 miles long),
the Red River of the North, the St. Croix, St. Louis, and many others of
lesser importance ; the chief lakes are those called Red, Cass, Leech,
Mille Lacs, Vermillion, and Winibigosh. Quite a concatenation of sheets
of water fringe the frontier line where Minnesota joins British America,
culminating in the Lake of the Woods. It has been estimated, that of
an area of 1,200,000 acres of surface between the St. Croix and Mis¬
sissippi Rivers, not less than 73,000 acres are of lacustrine formation. In
point of minerals, the resources of Minnesota have as yet been very
imperfectly developed; iron, copper, coal, lead — all these are known to
exist in considerable deposits ; together with salt, limestone, and potter’s
clay. The agricultural outlook of the State is in a high degree satis¬
factory ; wheat constitutes the leading cereal in cultivation, with Indian
corn and oats in next order. Fruits and vegetables are grown in great
plenty and of excellent quality. The lumber resources of Minnesota are
important ; the pine forests in the north region alone occupying an area
of some 21,000 square miles, which in 1870 produced a return of scaled
logs amounting to 313,116,416 feet. The natural industrial advantages
possessed by Minnesota are largely improved upon by a railroad system.
The political divisions of this State number 78 counties ; of which the
chief cities and towns are : St. Paul (the capital), Stillwater, Red Wing,
St. Anthony, Fort Snelling, Minneapolis, and Mankato. Minnesota has
already assumed an attitude of high importance as a manufacturing State ;
this is mainly due to the wonderful command of water-power she pos¬
sesses, as before spoken of. Besides her timber-trade, the milling of
flour, the distillation of whisky, and the tanning of leather, are prominent
interests, which, in 1869, gave returns to the amount of 114,831,043.
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
107
Education is notably provided for on a broad and catholic scale, the
entire amount expended scholastically during the year 1870 being $857,-
816 ; while on November 30 of the preceding year the permanent school
fund stood at $2,476,222. Besides a University and Agricultural College.
Normal and Reform Schools flourish, and with these may be mentioned
such various philanthropic and religious institutions as befit the needs of
an intelligent and prosperous community. The finances of the State for
the fiscal year terminating December 1, 1870, exhibited a balance on the
right side to the amount of $136,164, being a gain of $44,000 over the
previous year’s figures. The earliest exploration of Minnesota by the
whites was made in 1680 by a French Franciscan, Father Hennepin, who
gave the name of St. Antony to the Great Falls on the Upper Missisippi.
In 1763, the Treatv of Versailles ceded this region to England.
Twenty years later, Minnesota formed part of the Northwest Territory
transferred to the United States, and became herself territorialized inde¬
pendently in 1849. Indian cessions in 1851 enlarged her boundaries, ai d.
May 11, 1857, Minnesota became a unit of the great American federat on
of States. Population, 439,706.
NEBRASKA.
Maximum length, 412 miles ; extreme breadth, 208 miles. Area,
75,905 square miles, or 48,636,800 acres. The surface of this State is
almost entirely undulating prairie, and forms part of the west slope of
the great central basin of the North American Continent. In its west
division, near the base of the Rocky Mountains, is a sandy belt ot
country, irregularly defined. In this part, too, are the “ dunes,” resem¬
bling a wavy sea of sandy billows, as well as the Mauvaises Terres; a tract
of singular formation, produced by eccentric disintegrations and denuda¬
tions of the land. The chief rivers are the Missouri, constituting its en¬
tire east line of demarcation; the Nebraska or Platte, the Niobrara, the
Republican Fork of the Kansas, the Elkhorn, and the Loup Fork of the
Platte. The soil is very various, but consisting chiefly ot rich, bottomy
loam, admirably adapted to the raising of heavy crops of cereals. All
the vegetables and fruits of the temperate zone are produced in great
size and plenty. For grazing purposes Nebraska is a State exceptionally
well fitted, a region of not less than 23,000,000 acres being adaptable to
this branch of husbandry. It is believed that the, as yet, comparatively
infertile tracts of land found in various parts of the State are susceptible
of productivity by means of a properly conducted system ot irrigation.
’ Few minerals of moment have so far been found within the limits ot
108
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY
Nebraska, if we may except important saline deposits at the head of Salt
Creek in its southeast section. The State is divided into 57 counties,
independent of the Pawnee and Winnebago Indians, and of unorganized
territory in the northwest part. The principal towns are Omaha, Lincoln
(State capital), Nebraska City, Columbus, Grand Island, etc. In 1870,
the total assessed value of property amounted to 853,000,000, being an
increase of 811,000,000 over the previous year's returns. The total
amount received from the school-fund during the year 1869-70 was
877,999. Education is making great onward strides, the State University
and an Agricultural College being far advanced toward completion. In
the matter of railroad communication, Nebraska bids fair to soon place
herself on a par with her neighbors to the east. Besides being inter¬
sected by the Union Pacific line, with its off-shoot, the Fremont and Blair,
other tracks are in course of rapid construction. Organized by Con¬
gressional Act into a Territory, May 30, 1854, Nebraska entered the
Union as a full State, March 1, 1867. Population, 122,993.
HUNTING PRAIRIE WOLVES IX AX EARLY DAY
Early History of Illinois.
The name of this beautiful Prairie State is derived from Illini , a
Delaware word signifying Superior Men. It has a French termination,
and is a symbol of how the two races — the French and the Indians —
were intermixed during the early history of the country.
The appellation was no doubt well applied to the primitive inhabit¬
ants of the soil whose prowess in savage warfare long withstood the
combined attacks of the fierce Iroquois on the one side, and the no less
savage and relentless Sacs and Foxes on the other. The Illinois were
once a powerful confederacy, occupying the most beautiful and fertile
region in the great Valley of the Mississippi, which their enemies coveted
and struggled long and hard to wrest from them. By the fortunes of
war they were diminished in numbers, and finally destroyed. 44 Starved
Rock,” on the Illinois River, according to tradition, commemorates their
last tragedy, where, it is said, the entire tribe starved rather than sur¬
render.
EARLY DISCOVERIES.
The first European discoveries in Illinois date back over two hun¬
dred years. They are a part of that movement which, from the begin¬
ning to the middle of the seventeenth century, brought the French
Canadian missionaries and fur traders into the Valley of the Mississippi,
and which, at a later period, established the civil and ecclesiastical
authority of France from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico,
and from the foot-hills of the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains.
The great river of the West had been discovered by DeSoto, the
Spanish conqueror of Florida, three quarters of a century before the
French founded Quebec in 1608, but the Spanish left the country a wil¬
derness, without further exploration or settlement within its borders, in
which condition it remained until the Mississippi was discovered by the
agents of the French Canadian government, Joliet and Marquette, in 1678.
These renowned explorers were not the first white visitors to Illinois.
In 1671 — two years in advance of them — came Nicholas Perrot to Chicago.
He had been sent by Talon as an agent of the Canadian government to
ioq
110
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
STARVE]) ROCK, ON THE ILLINOIS RIVER, LASALLE CO., ILL,
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
Ill
call a great peace convention of Western Indians at Green Bay, prepara¬
tory to the movement for the discovery of the Mississippi. It was
deemed a good stroke of policy to secure, as far as possible, the friend¬
ship and co-operation of the Indians, far and near, before venturing upon
an enterprise which their hostility might render disastrous, and which
their friendship and assistance would do so much to make successful ;
and to this end Perrot was sent to call together in council the tribes
throughout the Northwest, and to promise them the commerce and pro¬
tection of the French government. He accordingly arrived at Green
Bay in 1671, and procuring an escort of Pottawattamies, proceeded in a
bark canoe upon a visit to the Miamis, at Chicago. Perrot was there¬
fore the first European to set foot upon the soil of Illinois.
Still there were others before Marquette. In 1672, the Jesuit mis¬
sionaries, Fathers Claude Allouez and Claude Dablon, bore the standard
of the Cross from their mission at Green Bay through western Wisconsin
and northern Illinois, visiting the Foxes on Fox River, and the Masquo-
tines and Kickapoos at the mouth of the Milwaukee. These missionaries
penetrated on the route afterwards followed by Marquette as far as the
Kickapoo village at the head of Lake Winnebago, where Marquette, in
his journey, secured guides across the portage to the Wisconsin.
The oft-repeated story of Marquette and Joliet is well known.
They were the agents employed by the Canadian government to discover
the Mississippi. Marquette was a native of France, born in 1637, a
Jesuit priest by education, and a man of simple faith and of great zeal and
devotion in extending the Roman Catholic religion among the Indians.
Arriving in Canada in 1666, he was sent as a missionary to the far
Northwest, and, in 1668, founded a mission at Sault Ste. Marie. The
following year he moved to La Pointe, in Lake Superior, where he
instructed a branch of the Hurons till 1670, when he removed south, and
founded the mission at St. Ignace, on the Straits of Mackinaw. Here
he remained, devoting a portion of his time to the study of the Illinois
language under a native teacher who had accompanied him to the mission
from La Pointe, till he was joined by Joliet in the Spring of 1673. By
the way of Green Bay and the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, they entered
the Mississippi,, which they explored to the mouth of the Arkansas, and
returned by the way of the Illinois and Chicago Rivers to Lake Michigan.
On his way up the Illinois, Marquette visited the great village ot
the Kaskaskias, near what is now Utica, in the county of LaSalle. The
following year he returned and established among them the mission oi
the Immaculate Virgin Mary, which was the first Jesuit mission founded
in Illinois and in the Mississippi Valley. The intervening winter he
had spent in a hut which his companions erected on the Chicago River, a
few leagues from its mouth. The founding of this mission was the last
112
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
act of Marquette's life. He died in Michigan, on his way back to Green
Bay, May 18, 1675.
FIRST FRENCH OCCUPATION.
The first French occupation of the territory now embraced in Illi¬
nois was effected by LaSalle in 1680, seven years after the time of Mar¬
quette and Joliet. LaSalle, having constructed a vessel, the 44 Griffin,*’
above the falls of Niagara, which he sailed to Green Bay, and having
passed thence in canoes to the mouth of the St. Joseph River, by which
and the Kankakee he reached the Illinois, in January, 1680, erected Fort
Crevecoeur , at the lower end of Peoria Lake, where the city of Peoria is
now situated. The place where this ancient fort stood may still be seen
just below the outlet of Peoria Lake. It was destined, however, to a
temporary existence. From this point, LaSalle determined to descend
the Mississippi to its mouth, but did not accomplish this purpose till two
years later — in 1682. Returning to Fort Frontenac for the purpose of
getting materials with which to rig his vessel, he left the fort in charge of
Touti, his lieutenant, who during his absence was driven off by the Iro¬
quois Indians. These savages had made a raid upon the settlement of
the Illinois, and had left nothing in their track but ruin and desolation.
Mr. Davidson, in his History of Illinois, gives the following graphic
account of the picture that met the eyes of LaSalle and his companions
on their return :
44 At the great town of the Illinois they were appalled at the scene
which opened to their view. No hunter appeared to break its death-like
silence with a salutatory whoop ot welcome. The plain on which the
town had stood was now strewn with charred fragments of lodges, which
had so recently swarmed with savage life and hilarity. To render more
hideous the picture of desolation, large numbers of skulls had been
placed on the upper extremities of lodge-poles which had escaped the
devouring flames. In the midst of these horrors was the rude fort of
the spoilers, rendered frightful by the same ghastly relics. A near
approach showed that the graves had been robbed of their bodies, and
swarms of buzzards were discovered glutting their loathsome stomachs
on the reeking corruption. To complete the work of destruction, the
growing corn of the village had been cut down and burned, while the
pits containing the products of previous years, had been rifled and their
contents scattered with wanton waste. It was evident the suspected
blow of the Iroquois had fallen with relentless fury.”
Tonti had escaped LaSalle knew not whither. Passing down the
lake in search of him and his men, LaSalle discovered that the fort had
been destroyed, but the vessel which he had partly constructed was still
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
113
on the stocks, and but slightly injured. After further fruitless search,
failing to find Tonti, he fastened to a tree a painting representing himself
and party sitting in a canoe and bearing a pipe of peace, and to the paint¬
ing attached a letter addressed to Tonti.
Tonti had escaped, and, after untold privations, taken shelter among
the Pottawattamies near Green Bay. These were friendly to the French.
One of their old chiefs used to say, “ There were but three great cap¬
tains in the world, himself, Tonti and LaSalle.”
GENIUS OF LaSALLE.
We must now return to LaSalle, whose exploits stand out in such
bold relief. He was born in Rouen, France, in 1643. His father was
wealthy, but he renounced his patrimony on entering a college of the
Jesuits, from which he separated and came to Canada a poor man in 1666.
The priests of St. Sulpice, among whom he had a brother, were then the
proprietors of Montreal, the nucleus of which was a seminary or con¬
vent founded by that order. The Superior granted to LaSalle a large
tract of land at LaChine, where he established himself in the fur trade.
He was a man of daring genius, and outstripped all his competitors in
exploits of travel and commerce with the Indians. In 1669, he visited
the headquarters of the great Iroquois Confederacy, at Onondaga, in the
heart of New York, and, obtaining guides, explored the Ohio River to
the falls at Louisville.
In order to understand the genius of LaSalle, it must be remembered
that for many years prior to his time the missionaries and traders were
obliged to make their way to the Northwest by the Ottawa River (of
Canada) on account of the fierce hostility of the Iroquois along the lower
lakes and Niagara River, which entirely closed this latter route to the
Upper Lakes. They carried on their commerce chiefly b}^ canoes, pad¬
dling them through the Ottawa to Lake Nipissing, carrying them across
the portage to French River, and descending that to Lake Huron. This
being the route by which they reached the Northwest, accounts for the
fact that all the earliest Jesuit missions were established in the neighbor-
hood of the Upper Lakes. LaSalle conceived the grand idea of opening
the route by Niagara River and the Lower Lakes to Canadian commerce
by sail vessels, connecting it with the navigation of the Mississippi, and
thus opening a magnificent water communication from the Gulf of St.
Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico. This truly grand and comprehensive
purpose seems to have animated him in all his wonderful achievements
and the matchless difficulties and hardships he surmounted. As the first
step in the accomplishment of this object he established himself on Lake
Ontario, and built and garrisoned Fort Frontenac, the site of the present
114
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
city of Kingston, Canada. Here he obtained a grant of land from the
French crown and a body of troops by which he beat back the invading
Iroquois and cleared the passage to Niagara Falls. Having by this mas¬
terly stroke made it safe to attempt a hitherto untried expedition, his
next step, as we have seen, was to advance to the Falls with all his
outfit for building a ship with which to sail the lakes. He was success-
tul in this undertaking, though his ultimate purpose was defeated by a
strange combination of untoward circumstances. The Jesuits evidently
hated LaSalle and plotted against him, because he had abandoned them
and co-operated with a rival order. The fur traders were also jealous of
his superior success in opening new channels of commerce. At LaChine
he had taken the trade of Lake Ontario, which but for his presence there
would have gone to Quebec. While they were plodding with their bark
canoes through the Ottawa he was constructing sailing vessels to com¬
mand the trade of the lakes and the Mississippi. These great plans
excited the jealousy and envy of the small traders, introduced treason and
revolt into the ranks of his own companions, and finally led to the foul
assassination by which his great achievements were prematurely ended.
In 1682, LaSalle, having completed his vessel at Peoria, descended
the Mississippi to its confluence with the Gulf of Mexico. Erecting a
standard on which he inscribed the arms of France, he took formal pos¬
session of the whole valley of the mighty river, in the name of Louis
XIV., then reigning, in honor of whom he named the country Louisiana.
LaSalle then went to France, was appointed Governor, and returned
with a fleet and immigrants, for the purpose of planting a colony in Illi¬
nois. They arrived in due time in the Gulf of Mexico, but failing to
find the mouth of the Mississippi, up which LaSalle intended to sail, his
supply ship, with the immigrants, was driven ashore and wrecked on
Matagorda Bay. With the fragments of the vessel he constructed a
stockade and rude huts on the shore for the protection of the immigrants,
calling the post Fort St. Louis. He then made a trip into New Mexico,
in search of silver mines, but, meeting with disappointment, returned to
find his little colony reduced to forty souls. He then resolved to travel
on foot to Illinois, and, starting with his companions, had reached the
valley of the Colorado, near the mouth of Trinity river, when he was
shot by one of his men. This occurred on the 19th of March, 1687.
Dr. J. W. Foster remarks of him : “ Thus fell, not far from the banks
of the Trinity, Robert Cavalier de la Salle, one of the grandest charac¬
ters that ever figured in American history — a man capable of originating
the vastest schemes, and endowed with a will and a judgment capable of
carrying them to successful results. Had ample facilities been placed by
the King of France at his disposal, the result of the colonization of this
continent might have been far different from what we now behold.”
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
116
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
A temporary settlement was made at Fort St. Louis, or the old Kas-
kaskia village, on the Illinois River, in what is now LaSalle County, in
1682. In 1690, this was removed, with the mission connected with it, to
Kaskaskia, on the river of that name, emptying’ into the lower Mississippi
in St. Clair County. Cahokia was settled about the same time, or at
least, both of these settlements began in the year 1690, though it is now
pretty well settled that Cahokia is the older place, and ranks as the oldest
permanent settlement in Illinois, as well as in the Mississippi Valley.
The reason for the removal of the old Kaskaskia settlement and mission,
was probably because the dangerous and difficult route by Lake Michigan
and the Chicago portage had been almost abandoned, and travelers and
traders passed down and up the Mississippi by the Fox and Wisconsin
River route. They removed to the vicinity of the Mississippi in order
to be in the line of travel from Canada to’ Louisiana, that is, the lower
part of it, for it was all Louisiana then south of the lakes.
During the period of French rule in Louisiana, the population prob¬
ably never exceeded ten thousand, including whites and blacks. Within
that portion of it now included in Indiana, trading posts were established
at the principal Miami villages which stood on the head waters of the
Maumee, the Wea villages situated at Ouiatenon, on the Wabash, and
the Piankeshaw villages at Post Vincennes ; all of which were probably
visited by French traders and missionaries before the close of the seven¬
teenth century.
In the vast territory claimed by the French, many settlements of
considerable importance had sprung up. Biloxi, on Mobile Bay, had
been founded by D’Iberville, in 1699 ; Antoine de Lamotte Cadillac had
founded Detroit in 1701; and New Orleans had been founded by Bien¬
ville, under the auspices of the Mississippi Company, in 1718. In Illi¬
nois also, considerable settlements had been made, so that in 1730 they
embraced one hundred and forty French families, about six hundred “ con¬
verted Indians,” and many traders and voyageurs. In that portion of the
country, on the east side of the Mississippi, there were five distinct set¬
tlements,, with their respective villages, viz. : Cahokia, near the mouth
of Cahokia Creek and about five miles below the present city of St.
Louis ; St. Philip, about forty -five miles below Cahokia, and four miles
above Fort Chartres ; Fort Chartres, twelve miles above Kaskaskia ;
Kaskaskia, situated on the Kaskaskia River, five miles above its conflu¬
ence with the Mississippi ; and Prairie du Rocher, near Fort Chartres.
To these must be added St. Genevieve and St. Louis, on the west side
of the Mississippi. These, with the exception of St. Louis, are among
116
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
AN EARLY SETTLEMENT
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
117
the oldest French towns in the Mississippi Valley. Kaskaskia, in its best
days, was a town of some two or three thousand inhabitants. After it
passed from the crown of France its population for many years did not
exceed fifteen hundred. Under British rule, in 1773, the population had
decreased to four hundred and fifty. As early as 1721, the Jesuits had
established a college and a monastery in Kaskaskia.
Fort Chartres was first built under the direction of the Mississippi
Company, in 1718, by M. de Boisbraint, a military officer, under command
of Bienville. It stood on the east bank of the Mississippi, about eighteen
miles below Kaskaskia, and was for some time the headquarters of the
military commandants of the district of Illinois.
In the Centennial Oration of Dr. Fowler, delivered at Philadelphia,
by appointment of Gov. Beveridge, we find some interesting facts with
regard to the State of Illinois, which we appropriate in this history :
In 1682 Illinois became a possession of the French crown, a depend-
ency of Canada, and a part of Louisiana. In 1<65 the English fla°' was
run up on old Fort Chartres, and Illinois was counted among the treas¬
ures of Great Britain.
In 1779 it was taken from the English by Col. George Rogers Clark.
This man was resolute in nature, wise in council, prudent in policy, bold
in action, and heroic in danger. Few men who* have figured in the his¬
tory of America are more deserving than this colonel. Nothing short of
first-class ability could have rescued Vincens and all Illinois from the
English.- And it is not possible to over-estimate the influence of this
achievement upon the republic. In 1779 Illinois became a part of Vir¬
ginia. It was soon known as Illinois County. In 1784 Virginia ceded
all this territory to the general government, to be cut into States, to be
republican in form, with “ the same right of sovereignty, freedom, and
independence as the other States.”
In 1787 it was the object of the wisest and ablest legislation found
in any merely human records. No man can study the secret history of
THE “ COMPACT OF 1787,”
and not feel that Providence was guiding with sleepless eye these unborn
States. The ordinance that on July 13, 1787, finally became the incor¬
porating act, has a most marvelous history. Jefferson had vainly tried
to secure a system of government for the northwestern territory. He
was an emancipationist of that day, and favored the exclusion of slavery
from the territory Virginia had ceded to the general government; but
the South voted him down as often as it came up. In 1787, as late as
July 10, an organizing act without the anti-slavery clause was pending.
This concession to the South was expected to carry it. Congress was in
118
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
session in New York City. On July 5, Rev. Dr. Manasseh Cutler, of
Massachusetts, came into New York to lobby on the northwestern terri¬
tory. Everything seemed to fall into his hands. Events were ripe.
The state of the public credit, the growing of Southern prejudice,
the basis of his mission, his personal character, all combined to complete
one of those sudden and marvelous revolutions of public sentiment that
once in five or ten centuries are seen to sweep over a country like the
breath of the Almighty. Cutler was a graduate of Yale — received his
A.M. from Harvard, and his D.D. from Yale. He had studied and taken
degrees in the three learned professions, medicine, law, and divinity. He
had thus America’s best indorsement. He had published a scientific
examination of the plants of New England. His name stood second only
to that of Franklin as a scientist in America. He was a courtly gentle¬
man of the old style, a man of commanding presence, and of inviting
face. The Southern members said they had never seen such a gentleman
in the North. He came representing a company that desired to purchase
a tract of land now included in Ohio, for the purpose of planting a colony.
It was a speculation. Government money was worth eighteen cents on
the dollar. This Massachusetts company had collected enough to pur¬
chase 1,500,000 acres of land. Other speculators in New York made
Dr. Cutler their agent (lobbyist). On the 12th he represented a demand
for 5,500,000 acres. This would reduce the national debt. Jefferson
and Virginia were regarded as authority concerning the land Virginia
had just ceded. Jefferson’s policy wanted to provide for the public credit,
and this was a good opportunity to do something.
Massachusetts then owned the territory of Maine, which she was
crowding on the market. She was opposed to opening the northwestern
region. This fired the zeal of Virginia. The South caught the inspira¬
tion, and all exalted Dr. Cutler. The English minister invited him to
dine with some of the Southern gentlemen. He was the center of interest.
The entire South rallied round him. Massachusetts could not vote
against him, because many of the constituents of her members were
interested personally in the western speculation. Thus Cutler, making
friends with the South, and, doubtless, using all the arts of the lobby?
was enabled to command the situation. True to deeper convictions, he
dictated one of the most compact and finished documents of wise states¬
manship that has ever adorned any human law book. He borrowed from
Jefferson the term “ Articles of Compact, ’ which, preceding the federal
constitution, rose into the most sacred character. He then followed very
closely the constitution of Massachusetts, adopted three years before.
Its most marked points were :
1. The exclusion of slavery from the territory forever.
2. Provision for public schools, giving one township for a seminary,
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
119
and every section numbered 16 in each township ; that is, one-thirty-sixth
of all the land, for public schools.
3. A provision prohibiting the adoption of any constitution or the
enactment of any law that should nullify pre-existing contracts.
Be it forever remembered that this compact declared that “ Religion,
morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the
happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall always
be encouraged.”
Dr. Cutler planted himself on this platform and would not yield.
Griving his unqualified declaration that it was that or nothing — that unless
they could make the land desirable they did not want it — he took his
horse and buggy, and started for the constitutional convention in Phila¬
delphia. On July 13, 1787, the bill was put upon its passage, and was
unanimously adopted, every Southern member voting for it, and only one
man, Mr. Yates, of New York, voting against it. But as the States voted
as States, Yates lost his vote, and the compact was put beyond repeal.
Thus the great States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wis¬
consin — a vast empire, the heart of the great valley — were consecrated
to freedom, intelligence, and honesty. Thus the great heart of the nation
was prepared for a year and a day and an hour. In the light of these eighty-
nine years I affirm that this act was the salvation of the republic and the
destruction of slavery. Soon the South saw their great blunder, and
tried to repeal the compact. In 1803 Congress referred it to a committee
of which John Randolph was chairman. He reported that this ordinance
was a compact, and opposed repeal. Thus it stood a rock, in the way
of the on-rushing sea of slavery.
With all this timely aid it was, after all, a most desperate and pro¬
tracted struggle to keep the soil of Illinois sacred to freedom. It was
the natural battle-field for the irrepressible conflict. In the southern end
of the State slavery preceded the compact. It existed among the old
French settlers, and was hard to eradicate. The southern part of the
State was settled from the slave States, and this population brought their
laws, customs, and institutions with them. A stream of population from
the North poured into the northern part of the State. These sections
misunderstood and hated each other perfectly. The Southerners regarded
the Yankees as a skinning, tricky, penurious race of peddlers, filling the
country with tinware, brass clocks, and wooden nutmegs. The North¬
erner thought of the Southerner as a lean, lank, lazy creature, burrowing
in a hut, and rioting in whisky, dirt and ignorance. These causes aided
in making the struggle long and bitter. So strong was the sympathy
with slavery that, in spite of the ordinance of 1787, and in spite of the
deed of cession, it was determined to allow the old French settlers to
retain their slaves. Planters from the slave States might bring their
120
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
slaves, if they would give them a chance to choose freedom or years
of service and bondage for their children till they should become
thirty years of age. If they chose freedom they must leave the State
in sixty days or be sold as fugitives. Servants were whipped for offenses
for which white men are fined. Each lash paid forty cents of the fine. A
negro ten miles from home without a pass was whipped. These famous
laws were imported from the slave States just as they imported laws for
the inspection of flax and wool when there was neither in the State.
These Black Laws are now wiped out. A vigorous effort was made
to protect slavery in the State Constitution of 1817. It barely failed.
It was renewed in 1825, when a convention was asked to make a new
constitution. After a hard fight the convention was defeated. But
slaves did not disappear from the census of the State until 1850. There
were mobs and murders in the interest of slavery. Lovejoy was added
to the list of martyrs — a sort of first-fruits of that long life of immortal
heroes who saw freedom as the one supreme desire of their souls, and
were so enamored of her that they preferred to die rather than survive her.
The population of 12,282 that occupied the territory in A.D. 1800,
increased to 45,000 in A.D. 1818, when the State Constitution was
adopted, and Illinois took her place in the Union, with a star on the flag
and two votes in the Senate.
Shadrach Bond was the first Governor, and in his first message he
recommended the construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal.
The simple economy in those days is seen in the fact that the entire
bill for stationery for the first Legislature was only $18.50. Yet this
simple body actually enacted a very superior code.
There was no money in the territory before the war of 1812. Deer
skins and coon skins were the circulating medium. In 1821, the Legis¬
lature ordained a State Bank on the credit of the State. It issued notes
in the likeness of bank bills. These notes were made a legal tender for
every thing, and the bank was ordered to loan to the people $100 on per¬
sonal security, and more on mortgages. They actually passed a resolu¬
tion requesting the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States to
receive these notes for land. The old French Lieutenant Governor, Col.
Menard, put the resolution as follows: 46 Gentlemen of the Senate : It is
moved and seconded dat de notes of dis bank be made land-office money.
All in favor of dat motion say aye ; all against it say no. It is decided
in de affirmative. Now, gentlemen, I bet you one hundred dollar he
never be land-office money ! ” Hard sense, like hard money, is always
above par.
This old Frenchman presents a fine figure up against the dark back¬
ground of most of his nation. They made no progress. They clung to
their earliest and simplest implements. They never wore hats or cap?
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
121
They pulled their blankets over their heads in the winter like the Indians,
with whom they freely intermingled.
Demagogism had an early development. One John Grammar (only
in name), elected to the Territorial and State Legislatures of 1816 and
1886, invented the policy of opposing every new thing, saying, “ If it
succeeds, no one will ask who voted against it. If it proves a failure, he
could quote its record.” In sharp contrast with Grammar was the char¬
acter of D. P. Cook, after whom the county containing Chicago was
named. Such was his transparent integrity and remarkable ability that
his will was almost the law of the State. In Congress, a young man,
and from a poor State, he was made Chairman of the Ways and Means
Committee. He was pre-eminent for standing by his committee, regard¬
less of consequences. It was his integrity that elected John Quincy
Adams to the Presidency. There were four candidates in 1824, Jackson,
Clay, Crawford, and John Quincy Adams. There being no choice by the
people, the election was thrown into the House. It was so balanced that
it turned on his vote, and that he cast for Adams, electing him ; then
went home to face the wrath of the Jackson party in Illinois. It cost
him all but character and greatness. It is a suggestive comment on the
times, that there was no legal interest till 1830. It often reached 150
per cent., usually 50 per cent. Then it was reduced to 12, and now to
10 per cent.
PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE PRAIRIE STATE.
In area the State has 55,410 square miles of territory. It is about
150 miles wide and 400 miles long, stretching in latitude from Maine to
North Carolina. It embraces wide variety of climate. It is tempered
on the north by the great inland, saltless, tideless sea, which keeps the
thermometer from either extreme. Being a table land, from 600 to 1,600
feet above the level of the sea, one is prepared to find on the health
maps, prepared by the general government, an almost clean and perfect
record. In freedom from fever and malarial diseases and consumptions,
the three deadly enemies of the American Saxon, Illinois, as a State,
stands without a superior. She furnishes one of the essential conditions
of a great people — sound bodies. I suspect that this fact lies back of
that old Delaware word, Illini, superior men.
The great battles of history that have been determinative of dynas¬
ties and destinies have been strategical battles, chiefly the question ol
position. Thermopylae has been the war-cry of freemen for twenty-four
centuries. It only tells how much there may be in position. All this
advantage belongs to Illinois. It is in the heart of the greatest valley in
the world, the vast region between the mountains — a valley that could
122
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
feed mankind for one thousand years. It is well on toward the center of
the continent. It is in the great temperate belt, in which have been
found nearly all the aggressive civilizations of history. It has sixty-five
miles of frontage on the head of the lake. With the Mississippi forming
the western and southern boundary, with the Ohio running along the
southeastern line, with the Illinois River and Canal dividing the State
diagonally from the lake to the Lower Mississippi, and with the Rock and
Wabash Rivers furnishing altogether 2,000 miles of water-front, con¬
necting with, and running through, in all about 12,000 miles of navi¬
gable water.
But this is not all. These waters are made most available by the
fact that the lake and the State lie on the ridge running into the great
valley from the east. Within cannon-shot of the lake the water runs
away from the lake to the Gulf. The lake now empties at both ends,
one into the Atlantic and one into the Gulf of Mexico. The lake thus
seems to hang over the land. This makes the dockage most serviceable ;
there are no steep banks to damage it. Both lake and river are made
for use.
The climate varies from Portland to Richmond; it favors everv pro¬
duct of the continent, including the tropics, with less than half a dozen
exceptions. It produces every great nutriment of the world except ban¬
anas and rice. It is hardly too much to say that it is the most productive
spot known to civilization. With the soil full of bread and the earth full
of minerals ; with an upper surface of food and an under layer of fuel ;
with perfect natural drainage, and abundant springs and streams and
navigable rivers : half way between the forests of the North and the fruits
of the South ; within a day s ride of the great deposits of iron, coal, cop¬
per, lead, and zinc ; containing and controlling the great grain, cattle,
pork, and lumber markets of the world, it is not strange that Illinois has
the advantage of position.
This advantage has been supplemented by the character of the popu¬
lation. In the early days when Illinois was first admitted to the Lnion,
her population were chiefly from Kentucky and Virginia. But, in the
conflict of ideas concerning slavery, a strong tide of emigration came in
from the East, and soon changed this composition. In 1870 her non-
native population were from colder soils. New York furnished 133,290;
Ohio gave 162,623 ; Pennsylvania sent on 98,352; the entire South gave
us only 206,734. In all her cities, and in all her German and Scandina¬
vian and other foreign colonies, Illinois has only about one-fifth of her
people of foreign birth.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
123
PROGRESS OF DEVELOPMENT.
One of the greatest elements in the early development of Illinois is
the Illinois and Michigan Canal, connecting the Illinois and Mississippi
Rivers with the lakes. It was of the utmost importance to the State.
It was recommended by Gov. Bond, the first governor, in his first message.
In 1821, the Legislature appropriated $10,000 for surveying the route.
Two bright young engineers surveyed it, and estimated the cost at
$600,000 or $700,000. It finally cost $8,000,000. In 1825, a law was
passed to incorporate the Canal Company, but no stock was sold. In
1826, upon the solicitation of Cook, Congress gave 800,000 acres of land
on the line of the work. In 1828, another law — commissioners appointed,
and work commenced with new survey and new estimates. In 1834-35,
George Farquhar made an able report on the whole matter. This was,
doubtless, the ablest report ever made to a western legislature, and it
became the model for subsequent reports and action. From this the
work went on till it was finished in 1848. It cost the State a large
amount of money ; but it gave to the industries of the State an impetus
that pushed it up into the first rank of greatness. It was not built as a
speculation any more than a doctor is employed on a speculation. But
it has paid into the Treasury of the State an average annual net sum of
over $111,000.
Pending the construction of the canal, the land and town-lot fever
broke out in the State, in 1834-35. It took on the malignant type in
Chicago, lifting the town up into a city. The disease spread over the
entire State and adjoining States. It was epidemic. It cut up men’s
farms without regard to locality, and cut up the purses of the purchasers
without regard to consequences. It is estimated that building lots enough
were sold in Indiana alone to accommodate every citizen then in the
United States.
Towns and cities were exported to the Eastern market by the ship¬
load. There was no lack of buyers. Every up-ship came freighted with
speculators and their money.
This distemper seized upon the Legislature in 1836-37, and left not
one to tell the tale. They enacted a system of internal improvement
without a parallel in the grandeur of its conception. They ordered the
construction of 1,300 miles of railroad, crossing the State in all direc¬
tions. This was surpassed by the river and canal improvements.
There were a few counties not touched by either railroad or river or
canal, and those were to be comforted and compensated by the free dis¬
tribution of $200,000 among them. To inflate this balloon beyond cre¬
dence it was ordered that work should be commenced on both ends oi
12 4
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
each of these railroads and rivers, and at each river-crossing, all at the
same time. The appropriations for these vast improvements were over
$12,000,000, and commissioners were appointed to borrow the money on
the credit of the State. Remember that all this was in the early days of
railroading, when railroads were luxuries ; that the State had whole
counties with scarcely a cabin ; and that the population of the State was
less than 400,000, and you can form some idea of the vigor with which
these brave men undertook the work of making a great State. In the
light of history I am compelled to say that this was only a premature
throb of the power that actually slumbered in the soil of the State. It
was Hercules in the cradle.
At this juncture the State Bank loaned its funds largely to Godfrey
Gilman & Co., and to other leading houses, for the purpose of drawing
trade from St. Louis to Alton. Soon they failed, and took down the
bank with them.
In 1840, all hope seemed gone. A population of 480,000 were loaded
with a debt of $14,000,000. It had only six small cities, really only
towns, namely: Chicago, Alton, Springfield, Quincy, Galena, Nauvoo.
This debt was to be cared for when there was not a dollar in the treas¬
ury, and when the State had borrowed itself out of all credit, and when
there was not good money enough in the hands of all the people to pay
the interest of the debt for a single year. Yet, in the presence of all
these difficulties, the young State steadily refused to repudiate. Gov.
Ford took hold of the problem and solved it, bringing the State through
in triumph.
Having touched lightly upon some of the more distinctive points in
the history of the development of Illinois, let us next briefly consider the
MATERIAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE.
It is a garden four hundred miles long and one hundred and fifty
miles wide. Its soil is chiefly a black sandy loam, from six inches to
sixtv feet thick. On the American bottoms it has been cultivated for
J
one hundred and fifty years without renewal. About the old French
towns it has yielded corn for a century and a half without rest or help.
It produces nearly everything green in the temperate and tropical zones.
She leads all other States in the number of acres actually under plow.
Her products from 25,000,000 of acres are incalculable. Her mineral
wealth is scarcely second to her agricultural power. She has coal, iron,
lead, copper, zinc, many varieties of building stone, fire clay, cuma clay,
common brick clay, sand of all kinds, gravel, mineral paint — every thing
needed for a high civilization. Left to herself, she has the elements of
all greatness. The single item of coal is too vast for an appreciative
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
125
handling in figures. We can handle it in general terms like algebraical
signs, but long before we get up into the millions and billions the human
mind drops down from comprehension to mere symbolic apprehension.
When I tell you that nearly four-fifths of the entire State is under¬
laid with a deposit of coal more than forty feet thick on the average (now
estimated, by recent surveys, at seventy feet thick), you can get some
idea of its amount, as you do of the amount of the national debt. There
it is ! 41,000 square miles — one vast mine into which you could put
any of the States ; in which you could bury scores of European and
ancient empires, and have room enough all round to work without know¬
ing that they had been sepulchered there.
Put this vast coal-bed down by the other great coal deposits of the
world, and its importance becomes manifest. Great Britain has 12,000
square miles of coal; Spain, 3,000; France, 1,719; Belgium, 578; Illinois
about twice as many square miles as all combined. Virginia has 20,000
square miles ; Pennsylvania, 16,000; Ohio, 12,000. Illinois has 41,000
square miles. One-seventh of all the known coal on this continent is in
Illinois.
Could we sell the coal in this single State for one-seventh of one cent
a ton it would pay the national debt. Converted into power, even with
the wastage in our common engines, it would do more work than could
be done by the entire race, beginning at Adam’s wedding and working
ten hours a day through all the centuries till the present time, and right
on into the future at the same rate for the next 600,000 years.
Great Britain uses enough mechanical power to-day to give to each
man, woman, and child in the kingdom the help and service of nineteen
untiring servants. No wonder she has leisure and luxuries. No wonder
the home of the common artisan has in it more luxuries than could be
found in the palace of good old King Arthur. Think, if you can conceive
of it, of the vast army of servants that slumber in the soil of Illinois,
impatiently awaiting the call of Genius to come forth to minister to our
comfort.
At the present rate of consumption England’s coal supply will be
exhausted in 250 years. When this is gone she must transfer her dominion
either to the Indies, or to British America, which I would not resist ; or
to some other people, which I would regret as a loss to civilization.
COAL IS KING.
At the same rate of consumption (which far exceeds our own) the
deposit of coal in Illinois will last 120,000 years. And her kingdom shall
be an everlasting kingdom.
Let us turn, now from this reserve power to the annual products ot
126
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
the State. We shall not be humiliated in this field. Here we strike the
secret of our national credit. Nature provides a market in the constant
appetite of the race. Men must eat, and if we can furnish the provisions
we can command the treasure. All that a man hath will he give for his
life.
According to the last census Illinois produced 30,000,000 of bushels
of wheat. That is more wheat than was raised by any other State in the
Union. She raised In 1875, 130,000,000 of bushels of corn — twice as
much as any other State, and one-sixth of all the corn raised in the United
States. She harvested 2,747,000 tons of hay, nearly one-tenth of all the
hay in the Republic. It is not generally appreciated, but it is true, that
the hay crop of the country is worth more than the cotton crop. The
hay of Illinois equals the cotton of Louisiana. Go to Charleston, S. C.,
and see them peddling handfuls of hay or grass, almost as a curiosity,
as we regard Chinese gods or the cryolite of Greenland ; drink your
coffee and condensed milk ; and walk back from the coast for many a
league through the sand and burs till you get up into the better atmos¬
phere of the mountains, without seeing a waving meadow or a grazing
herd ; then you will begin to appreciate the meadows of the Prairie State,
where the grass often grows sixteen feet high.
The value of her farm implements is $211,000,000, and the value of
her live stock is only second to the great State of New York. in 1875
she had 25,000,000 hogs, and packed 2,113,845, about one-half of all that
were packed in the United States. This is no insignificant item. Pork
is a growing demand of the old world. Since the laborers of Europe
have gotten a taste of our bacon, and we have learned how to pack it dry
in boxes, like dry goods, the world has become the market.
The hog is on the march into the future. His nose is ordained to
uncover the secrets of dominion, and his feet shall be guided by the star
of empire.
Illinois marketed $57,000,000 worth of slaughtered animals — more
than any other State, and a seventh of all the States.
Be patient with me, and pardon my pride, and I will give you a list
of some of the things in which Illinois excels all other States.
Depth and richness of soil ; per cent, of good ground ; acres of
improved land ; large farms — some farms contain from 40,000 to 60,000
acres of cultivated land, 40,000 acres of corn on a single farm ; number of
farmers ; amount of wheat, corn, oats and honey produced ; value of ani¬
mals for slaughter ; number of hogs ; amount of pork ; number of horses
— three times as many as Kentucky, the horse State.
Illinois excels all other States in miles of railroads and in miles of
postal service, and in money orders sold per annum, and in the amount of
lumber sold in her markets.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
127
s or \ second in many important matters. This sample list
comprises a few of the more important : Permanent school fund (good
foi a young state) ; total income for educational purposes ; number of pub¬
lishers of books, maps, papers, etc.; value of farm products and imple¬
ments, and of live stock ; in tons of coal mined.
The shipping of Illinois is only second to New York. Out of one
port during the business hours of the season of navigation she sends forth
a vessel every ten minutes. This doe^not include canal boats, which go
one every five minutes. No wonder she is only second in number of
bankers and brokers or in physicians and surgeons.
She is third in colleges, teachers and schools; cattle, lead, hay,
flax, sorghum and beeswax.
She is fourth in population, in children enrolled in public schools, in
law schools, in butter, potatoes and carriages.
She is fifth in value of real and personal property, in theological
seminaries and colleges exclusively for women, in milk sold, and in boots
and shoes manufactured, and in book-binding.
She is only seventh in the production of wood, while she is the
twelfth in area. Surely that is well done for the Prairie State. She now
has much more wood and growing timber than she had thirty years ago.
A few leading industries will justify emphasis. She manufactures
$205,000,000 worth of goods, which places her well up toward New York
and Pennsylvania. The number of her manufacturing establishments
increased from 1860 to 1870, 300 per cent.; capital employed increased 350
per cent,, and the amount of product increased 400 per cent. She issued
5,500,000 copies of commercial and financial newspapers — only second to
New York. She has 6,759 miles of railroad, thus leading all other States,
worth $636,458,000, using 3,245 engines, and 67,712 cars, making a train
long enough to cover one-tenth of the entire roads of the State. Her
stations are only five miles apart. She carried last year 15,795,000 passen¬
gers, an average of 36|- miles, or equal to taking her entire population twice
across the State. More than two-thirds of her land is within five miles of
a railroad, and less than two per cent, is more than fifteen miles away.
The State has a large financial interest in the Illinois Central railroad.
The road was incorporated in 1850, and the State gave each alternate sec¬
tion for six miles on each side, and doubled the price of the remaining
land, so keeping herself good. The road received 2,595,000 acres of land,
and pays to the State one-seventh of the gross receipts. The State
receives this year $350,000, and has received in all about $7,000,000. It
is practically the people’s road, and it has a most able and gentlemanly
management. Add to this the annual receipts from the canal, $111,000,
and a large per cent, of the State tax is provided for.
128
HISTOKY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
THE RELIGION AND MORALS
of the State keep step with her productions and growth. She was born
of the missionary spirit. It was a minister who secured for her the ordi¬
nance of 1787, by which she has been saved from slavery, ignorance, and
dishonesty. Rev. Mr. Wiley, pastor of a Scotch congregation in Randolph
County, petitioned the Constitutional Convention of 1818 to recognize
Jesus Christ as king, and the Scriptures as the only necessary guide and
book of law. The convention did not act in the case, and the old Cove¬
nanters refused to accept citizenship. They never voted until 1824, when
the slavery question was submitted to the people; then they all voted
against it and cast the determining votes. Conscience has predominated
whenever a great moral question has been submitted to the people.
But little mob violence has ever been felt in the State. In 181 1
regulators disposed of a band of horse-thieves that infested the territory.
The Mormon indignities finally awoke the same spirit. Alton was also
the scene of a pro-slavery mob, in which Lovejoy was added to the list of
martyrs. The moral sense of the people makes the law supreme, and gives
to the State unruffled peace.
With 822,800,000 in church property, and 4,298 church organizations,
the State has that divine police, the sleepless patrol of moral ideas, that
alone is able to secure perfect safety. Conscience takes the knife from
the assassin’s hand and the bludgeon from the grasp of the highwayman.
We sleep in safety, not because we are behind bolts and bars — these only
fence against the innocent^; not because a lone officer drowses on a distant
corner of a street; not because a sheriff ma}r call his posse from a remote
part of the county ; but because conscience guards the very portals of the
air and stirs in the deepest recesses of the public mind. This spirit issues
within the State 9,500,000 copies of religious papers annually, and receives
still more from without. Thus the crime of the State is only one-fourth
that of New York and one-half that of Pennsylvania.
Illinois never had but one duel between her own citizens. In Belle¬
ville, in 1820, Alphonso Stewart and William Bennett arranged to vindi¬
cate injured honor. The seconds agreed to make it a sham, and make
them shoot blanks. Stewart was in the secret. Bennett mistrusted some¬
thing, and, unobserved, slipped a bullet into his gun and killed Stewart.
He then fled the State. After two years he was caught, tried, convicted,
and, in spite of friends and political aid, was hung. This fixed the code
of honor on a Christian basis, and terminated its use in Illinois.
The early preachers were ignorant men, who were accounted eloquent
according to the strength of their voices. But they set the style for all
public speakers. Lawyers and political speakers followed this rule. Gov.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
129
Ford says: “Nevertheless, these first preachers were of incalculable
benefit to the country. They inculcated justice and morality. To them
are we indebted for the first Christian character of the Protestant portion
of the people.”
In education Illinois surpasses her material resources. The ordinance
of 1787 consecrated one thirty -sixth of her soil to common schools, and
the law of 1818, the first law that went upon her statutes, gave three per
cent, of all the rest to
EDUCATION.
The old compact secures this interest forever, and by its yoking
morality and intelligence it precludes the legal interference with the Bible
in the public schools. With such a start it is natural that we should have
11,050 schools, and that our illiteracy should be less than New York or
Pennsylvania, and only about one-half of Massachusetts. We are not to
blame for not having more than one-half as many idiots as the great
States. These public schools soon made colleges inevitable. The first
college, still flourishing, was started in Lebanon in 1828, by the M. E.
church, and named after Bishop McKendree. Illinois College, at Jackson¬
ville, supported by the Presbyterians, followed in 1880. In 1832 the Bap¬
tists built Shurtleff College, at Alton. Then the Presbyterians built Knox
College, at Galesburg, in 1838, and the Episcopalians built Jubilee College,
at Peoria, in 1847. After these early years colleges have rained down.
A settler could hardly encamp on the prairie but a college would spring
up by his wagon. The State now has one very well endowed and equipped
university, namely, the Northwestern University, at Evanston, with six
colleges, ninety instructors, over 1,000 students, and $ 1,500,000 endow¬
ment.
Rev. J. M. Peck was the first educated Protestant minister m tne
State. He settled at Rock Spring, in St. Clair County, 1820, and left his
impress on the State. Before 1837 only party papers were published, but
Mr. Peck published a Gazetteer of Illinois. Soon after John Russell, of
Bluffdale, published essays and tales showing genius. Judge James Hall
published The Illinois Monthly Magazine with great ability, and an annual
called The Western Souvenir , which gave him an enviable fame all over the
United States. From these beginnings Illinois has gone on till she has
more volumes in public libaaries even than Massachusetts, and of the
44,500,000 volumes in all the public libraries of the United States, she
has one-thirteenth. In newspapers she stands fourth. Her increase is
marvelous. In 1850 she issued 5,000,000 copies; in 1860, 27,590,000 ; in
1870, 113,140,000. In 1860 she had eighteen colleges and seminaries ; in
1870 she had eighty. That is a grand advance for the war decade.
This brings us to a record unsurpassed in the history of any age,
130
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
THE WAR RECORD OF ILLINOIS.
I hardly know where to begin, or how to advance, or what to say. I
can at best give you only a broken synopsis of her deeds, and you must
put them in the order of glory for yourself. Her sons have always been
foremost on fields of danger. In 1832-33, at the call of Gov. Reynolds,
her sons drove Blackhawk over the Mississippi.
When the Mexican war came, in May, 1846, 8,370 men offered them¬
selves when only 3,720 could be accepted. The fields of Buena Vista and
Vera Cruz, and the storming of Cerro Gordo, will carry the glory of Illinois
soldiers along after the infamy of the cause they served has been forgotten.
But it was reserved till our day for her sons to find a field and cause and
foemen that could fitly illustrate their spirit and heroism. Illinois put
into her own regiments for the United States government 256,000 men,
and into the army through other States enough to swell the number to
290,000. This far exceeds all the soldiers of the federal government in
all the war of the revolution. Her total years of service were over 600,000.
She enrolled men from eighteen to forty -five years of age when the law
of Congress in 1864 — the test time — only asked for those from twenty to
forty-five. Her enrollment was otherwise excessive. Her people wanted
to go, and did not take the pains to correct the enrollment. Thus the
basis of fixing the quota was too great, and then the quota itself, at least
in the trying time, was far above any other State.
Thus the demand on some counties, as Monroe, for example, took every
able-bodied man in the county, and then did not have enough to fill the
quota. Moreover, Illinois sent 20,844 men for ninety or one hundred days,
for whom no credit was asked. When Mr. Lincoln’s attention was called
to the inequality of the quota compared with other States, he replied,
“The country needs the sacrifice. We must pot the whip on the free
horse.” In spite of all these disadvantages Illinois gave to the country
73,000 years of service above all calls. With one-thirteenth of the popu¬
lation of the loyal States, she sent regularly one-tenth of all the soldiers,
and in the peril of the closing calls, when patriots were few and weary,
she then sent one-eighth of all that were called for by her loved and hon¬
ored son in the white house. Her mothers and daughters went into the
fields to raise the grain and keep the children together, while the fathers
and older sons went to the harvest fields of the world. I knew a father
and four sons who agreed that one of them must stay at home ; and they
pulled straws from a stack to see who might go. The father was left.
The next day he came into the camp, saying : “ Mother says she can get
the crops in, and I am going, too.” I know large Methodist churches
from which every male member went to the army. Do you want to know
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
131
what these heroes from Illinois did in the field ? Ask any soldier with a
good record of his own, who is thus able to judge, and he will tell you
that the Illinois men went in to win. It is common history that the greater
victories were won in the West. When everything else looked dark Illi¬
nois was gaining victories all down the river, and dividing the confederacy.
Sherman took with him on his great march forty-live regiments of Illinois
infantry, three companies of artillery, and one company of cavalry. He
could not avoid
GOING TO THE SEA.
If he had been killed, I doubt not the men would have gone right on.
Lincoln answered all rumors of Sherman’s defeat with, “ It is impossible ;
there is a mighty sight of fight in 100,000 Western men.” Illinois soldiers
brought home 300 battle-flags. The first United States flag that floated
over Richmond was an Illinois flag. She sent messengers and nurses to
every field and hospital, to care for her sick and wounded sons. She said,
u These suffering ones are my sons, and I will care for them.”
When individuals had given all, then cities and towns came forward
with their credit to the extent of many millions, to aid these men and
their families.
Illinois gave the country the great general of the war — Ulysses S.
Grant — since honored with two terms of the Presidency of the United
States.
One other name from Illinois comes up in all minds, embalmed in all
hearts, that must have the supreme place in this story of our glory and
of our nation’s honor ; that name is Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois.
The analysis of Mr. Lincoln's character is difficult on account of its
symmetry.
In this age we look with admiration at his uncompromising honesty.
And well we may, for this saved us. Thousands throughout the length
and breadth of our country who knew him only as “ Honest Old Abe/'
voted for him on that account ; and wisely did they choose, for no other
man could have carried us through the fearful night of the war. When
his plans were too vast for our comprehension, and his faith in the cause
too sublime for our participation ; when it was all night about us, and all
dread before us, and all sad and desolate behind us ; when not one ray
shone upon our cause ; when traitors were haughty and exultant at the
South, and fierce and blasphemous at the North ; when the loyal men here
seemed almost in the minority ; when the stoutest heart quailed, the bravest
cheek paled ; when generals were defeating each other for place, and
contractors were leeching out the very heart’s blood of the prostrate
republic : when every thing else had failed us, we looked at this calm,
patient man standing like a rock in the storm, and said : “ Mr. Lincoln
132
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
is honest, and we can trust him still.” Holding to this single point with
the energy of faith and despair we held together, and, under God, he
brought us through to victory.
His practical wisdom made him the wonder of all lands. With such
certainty did Mr. Lincoln follow causes to their ultimate effects, that his
foresight of contingencies seemed almost prophetic.
He is radiant with all the great virtues, and his memory shall shed a
glory upon this age that shall fill the eyes of men as they look into his¬
tory. Other men have excelled him in some point, but, taken at all
points, all in all, he stands head and shoulders above every other man of
6,000 years. An administrator, he saved the nation in the perils of
unparalleled civil war. A statesman, he justified his measures by their
success. A philanthropist, he gave liberty to one race and salvation to
another. A moralist, he bowed from the summit of human power to the
foot of the Cross, and became a Christian. A mediator, he exercised mercy
under the most absolute abeyance to law. A leader, he was no partisan.
A commander, he was untainted with blood. A ruler in desperate times,
he was unsullied with crime. A man, he has left no word of passion, no
thought of malice, no trick of craft, no act of jealousy, no purpose of
selfish ambition. Thus perfected, without a model, and without a peer,
he was dropped into these troubled years to adorn and embellish all that
is good and all that is great in our humanity, and to present to all coming
time the representative of the divine idea of free government.
It is not too much to say that away down in the future, when the
republic has fallen from its niche in the wall of time ; when the great
war itself shall have faded out in the distance like a mist on the horizon ;
when the Anglo-Saxon language shall be spoken only by the tongue of
the stranger ; then the generations looking this way shall see the great
president as the supreme figure in this vortex of historv
CHICAGO.
It is impossible in our brief space to give more than a meager sketch
of such a city as Chicago, which is in itself the greatest marvel of the
Prairie State. This mysterious, majestic, mighty city, born first of water,
and next of fire; sown in weakness, and raised in power; planted among
the willows of the marsh, and crowned with the glory of the mountains ;
sleeping on the bosom of the prairie, and rocked on the bosom of the sea ;
the youngest city of the world, and still the eye of the prairie, as Damas¬
cus, the oldest city of the world, is the eye of the desert. With a com¬
merce far exceeding that of Corinth on her isthmus, in the highway to
the East; with the defenses of a continent piled around her by the thou¬
sand miles, making her far safer than Rome on the banks of the Tiber ;
HISTORY OP THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
133
134
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
with schools eclipsing Alexandria and Athens ; with liberties more con¬
spicuous than those of the old republics ; with a heroism equal to the first
Carthage, and with a sanctity scarcely second to that of Jerusalem — set
your thoughts on all this, lifted into the eyes of all men by the miracle of
its growth, illuminated by the flame of its fall, and transfigured by the
divinity of its resurrection, and you will feel, as I do, the utter impossi¬
bility of compassing this subject as it deserves. Some impression of her
importance is received from the shock her burning gave to the civilized
world.
When the doubt of her calamity was removed, and the horrid fact
was accepted, there went a shudder over all cities, and a quiver over all
lands. There was scarcely a town in the civilized world that did not
shake on the brink of this opening chasm. The flames of our homes red¬
dened all skies. The city was set upon a hill, and could not be hid. All
eyes were turned upon it. To have struggled and suffered amid the
scenes of its fall is as distinguishing as to have fought at Thermopylae, or
Salamis, or Hastings, or Waterloo, or Bunker Hill.
Its calamity amazed the world, because it was felt to be the common
property of mankind.
The early history of the city is full of interest, just as the early his¬
tory of such a man as Washington or Lincoln becomes public property,
and is cherished by every patriot.
Starting with 560 acres in 1833, it embraced and occupied 23,000
acres in 1869, and, having now a population of more than 500,000, it com¬
mands general attention.
The first settler — Jean Baptiste Pointe au Sable, a mulatto from the
West Indies — came and began trade with the Indians in 1796. John
Kinzie became his successor in 1804, in which year Fort Dearborn was
erected.
A mere trading-post was kept here from that time till about the time
of the Blackhawk war, in 1832. It was not the city. It was merely a
cock crowing at midnight. The morning was not yet. In 1833 the set¬
tlement about the fort was incorporated as a town. The voters were
divided on the propriety of such corporation, twelve voting for it and one
against it. Four years later it was incorporated as a city, and embraced
560 acres.
The produce handled in this city is an indication of its power. Grain
and flour were imported from the East till as late as 1837. The first
exportation by way of experiment was in 1839. Exports exceeded imports
first in 1842.' The Board of Trade was organized in 1848, but it was so
weak that it needed nursing till 1855. Grain was purchased by the
wagon-load in the street. 1
I remember sitting with my father on a load of wheat, in the long
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
135
line of wagons along Lake street, while the buyers came and untied the
bags, and examined the grain, and made their bids. That manner of
business had to cease with the day of small things. Now our elevators
will hold 15,000,000 bushels of grain. The cash value of the produce
handled in a year is $215,000,000, and the produce weighs 7,000,000
tons or 700,000 car loads. This handles thirteen and a half ton each
minute, all the year round. One tenth of all the wheat in the United
States is handled in Chicago. Even as long ago as 1853 the receipts of
grain in Chicago exceeded those of the goodly city of St. Louis, and in
1854 the exports of grain from Chicago exceeded those of New York and
doubled those of St. Petersburg, Archangel, or Odessa, the largest grain
markets in Europe.
The manufacturing interests of the city are not contemptible. In
1873 manufactories employed 45,000 operatives ; in 1876,60,000. The
manufactured product in 1875 was worth $177,000,000.
No estimate of the size and power of Chicago would be adequate
that did not put large emphasis on the railroads. Before they came
thundering along our streets canals were the hope of our country. But
who ever thinks now of traveling by canal packets? In June, 1852,
there were only forty miles of railroad connected with the city. The
old Galena division of the Northwestern ran out to Elgin. But now,
who can count the trains and measure the roads that seek a terminus or
connection in this city? The lake stretches away to the north, gathering
in to this center all the harvests that might otherwise pass to the north
of us. If you will take a map and look at the adjustment of railroads,
you will see, first, that Chicago is the great railroad center of the world,
as New York is the commercial city of this continent; and, second, that
the railroad lines form the iron spokes of a great wheel whose hub is
this city. The lake furnishes the only break in the spokes, and this
seems simply to have pushed a few spokes together on each shore. See
the eighteen trunk lines, exclusive of eastern connections.
Pass round the circle, and view their numbers and extent. There
is the great Northwestern, with all its branches, one branch creeping
along the lake shore, and so reaching to the north, into the Lake Superior
regions, away to the right, and on to the Northern Pacific on the left,
swinging around Green Bay for iron and copper and silver, twelve months
in the year, and reaching out for the wealth of the great agricultural
belt and isothermal line traversed by the Northern Pacific. Another
branch, not so far north, feeling for the heart of the Badger State.
Another pushing lower down the Mississippi — all these make many con¬
nections, and tapping all the vast wheat regions of Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Iowa, and all the regions this side of sunset. There is that elegant road,
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, running out a goodly number of
136
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
OLD FORT DEARBORN, 1830.
PRESENT SITE OF LAKE STREET BRIDGE, CHICAGO, IN 1833
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
137
branches, and reaping the great fields this side of the Missouri River.
I can only mention the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis, our Illinois Central,
described elsewhere, and the Chicago & Rock Island. Further around
we come to the lines connecting us with all the eastern cities. The
Chicago, Indianapolis & St. Louis, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne &
Chicago, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, and the Michigan Cen¬
tral and Great W estern, give us many highways to the seaboard. Thus we
reach the Mississippi at five points, from St. Paul to Cairo and the Gulf
itself by two routes. We also reach Cincinnati and Baltimore, and Pitts¬
burgh and Philadelphia, and New York. North and south run the water
courses of the lakes and the rivers, broken just enough at this point to
make a pass. Through this, from east to west, run the long lines that
stretch from ocean to ocean.
This is the neck of the glass, and the golden sands of commerce
must pass into our hands. Altogether we have more than 10,000 miles
of railroad, directly tributary to this city, seeking to unload their wealth
in our coffers. All these- roads have come themselves by the infallible
instinct of capital. Not a dollar was ever given by the city to secure
one of them, and only a small per cent, of stock taken originally by her
citizens, and that taken simply as an investment. Coming in the natural
order of events, they will not be easily diverted.
There is still another showing to all this. The connection between
New York and San Francisco is by the middle route. This passes inevit¬
ably through Chicago. St. Louis wants the Southern Pacific or Kansas
Pacific, and pushes it out through Denver, and so on up to Cheyenne.
But before the road is fairly under way, the Chicago roads shove out to
Kansas City, making even the Kansas Pacific a feeder, and actually leav¬
ing St. Louis out in the cold. It is not too much to expect that Dakota,
Montana, and Washington Territory will find their great market in Chi¬
cago.
But these are not all. Perhaps I had better notice here the ten or
fifteen new roads that have just entered, or are just entering, our city.
Their names are all that is necessary to give. Chicago & St. Paul, look¬
ing up the Red River country to the British possessions ; the Chicago,
Atlantic & Pacific ; the Chicago, Decatur & State Line ; the Baltimore &
Ohio; the Chicago, Danville & Vincennes; the Chicago & LaSalle Rail¬
road ; the Chicago, Pittsburgh & Cincinnati ; the Chicago and Canada
Southern ; the Chicago and Illinois River Railroad. These, with their
connections, and with the new connections of the old roads, already in
process of erection, give to Chicago not less than 10,000 miles of new-
tributaries from the richest land on the continent. Thus there will be
added to the reserve power, to the capital within reach of this city, not
less than 81,000,000,000.
138
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
Add to all this transporting power the ships that sail one every nine
minutes of the business hours of the season of navigation ; add, also, the
canal boats that leave one every five minutes during the same time — and
you will see something of the business of the citv.
i/
THE COMMERCE OF THIS CITY
has been leaping along to keep pace with the growth of the country
around us. In 1852, our commerce reached the hopeful sum of
820,000,000. In 1870 it reached 8100,000,000. In 1871 it was pushed
up above *450,000,000. And in 1875 it touched nearly double that.
One-half of our imported goods come directly to Chicago. Grain
enough is exported directly from our docks to the old world to employ a
semi-weekly line of steamers of 3,000 tons capacity. This branch is
not likely to be greatly developed. Even after the great Welland Canal
is completed we shall have onlv fourteen feet of water. The oueat ocean
vessels will continue to control the trade.
The banking capital of Chicago is 824,431,000. Total exchange in
1875, 8659,000,000. Her wholesale business in 1875 was 8294,000.000.
The rate of taxes is less than in any other great city.
The schools of Chicago are unsurpassed in America. Out of a popu¬
lation of 300,000 there were only 186 persons between the ages of six
and twenty-one unable to read. This is the best known record.
In I8bl the mail system was condensed into a half-breed, who went
on foot to Niles, Mich., once in two weeks, and brought back what papers
and news he could find. As late as 1846 there was often only one mail
a week. A post-office was established in Chicago in 1833, and the post¬
master nailed up old boot-legs on one side of his shop to serve as boxes
for the nabobs and literarv men.
It is an interesting fact in the growth of the young city that in the
active life of the business men ot that day the mail matter has grown to
a daily average of over 6,500 pounds. It speaks equally well for the
intelligence of the people and the commercial importance of the place,
that the mail matter distributed to the territory immediately tributary to
Chicago is seven times greater than that distributed to the territory
immediately tributary to St. Louis.
The improvements that have characterized the citv are as startling
as the city itself. In 1831, Mark Beaubien established a ferrv over the
river, and put himself under bonds to carry all the citizens free for the
privilege of charging strangers. Now there are twenty-four large bridges
and two tunnels.
In 1833 the government expended 830,000 on the harbor. Then
commenced that series of manoeuvers with the river that has made it one
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
139
of the world’s curiosities. It used to wind around in the lower end of
the town, and make its way rippling over the sand into the lake at the
foot of Madison street. They took it up and put it down where it now
is. It was a narrow stream, so narrow that even moderately small crafts
had to go up through the willows and cat’s tails to the point near Lake
street bridge, and back up one of the branches to get room enough in
which to turn around.
In 1844 the quagmires in the streets were first pontooned by plank
roads, which acted in wet weather as public squirt-guns. Keeping you
out of the mud, they compromised by squirting the mud over you. The
wooden-block pavements came to Chicago in 1857. In 1840 water was
delivered by peddlers in carts or by hand. Then a twenty-five horse¬
power engine pushed it through hollow or bored logs along the streets
till 1854, when it was introduced into the houses by new works. The
first fire-engine was used in 1835, and the first steam fire-engine in 1859.
Gas was utilized for lighting the city in 1850. The Young Men’s Chris¬
tian Association was organized in 1858, and horse railroads carried them
to their work in 1859. The museum was opened in 1863. The alarm
telegraph adopted in 1864. The opera-house built in 1865. The city
grew from 560 acres in 1833 to 23,000 in 1869. In 1834, the taxes
amounted to 148.90, and the trustees of the town borrowed $60 more for
opening and improving streets. In 1835, the legislature authorized a loan
of $2,000, and the treasurer and street commissioners resigned rather than
plunge the town into such a gulf.
Now the city embraces 36 square miles of territory, and has 30 miles
of water front, besides the outside harbor of refuge, of 400 acres, inclosed
by a crib sea-wall. One-third of the city has been raised up an average
of eight feet, giving good pitch to the 263 miles of sewerage. The water
of the city is above all competition. It is received through two tunnels
extending to a crib in the lake two miles from shore. The closest analy¬
sis fails to detect any impurities, and, received 35 feet below the surface,
it is always clear and cold. The first tunnel is five feet two inches in
diameter and two miles long, and can deliver 50,000,000 of gallons per
day. The second tunnel is seven feet in diameter and six miles long,
running four miles under the city, and can deliver 100,000,000 of gal¬
lons per day. This water is distributed through 410 miles oi water-
mains.
The three grand engineering exploits of the city are : First, lifting
the city up on jack-screws, whole squares at a time, without interrupting
the business, thus giving us good drainage ; second, running the tunnels
under the lake, giving us the best water in the world ; and third, the
turning the current of the river in its own channel, delivering us from the
old abominations, and making decency possible. They redound about
140
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
equally to the credit of the engineering, to the energy of the people, and
to the health of the city.
That which really constitutes the city, its indescribable spirit, its soul,
the way it lights up in every feature in the hour of action, has not been
touched. In meeting strangers, one is often surprised how some homely
women marry so well. Their forms are bad, their gait uneven and awk¬
ward, their complexion is dull, their features are misshapen and mismatch¬
ed, and when we see them there is no beauty that we should desire them.
But when once they are aroused on some subject, they put on new pro¬
portions. They light up into great power. The real person comes out
from its unseemly ambush, and captures us at will. They have power.
They have ability to cause things to come to pass. We no longer wonder
why they are in such high demand. So it is with our city.
There is no grand scenery except the two seas, one of water, the
other of prairie. Nevertheless, there is a spirit about it, a push, a breadth,
a power, that soon makes it a place never to be forsaken. One soon
ceases to believe in impossibilities. Balaams are the only prophets that are
disappointed. The bottom that has been on the point of falling out has
been there so long that it has grown fast. It can not fall out. It has all
the capital of the world itching to get inside the corporation.
The two great laws that govern the growth and size of cities are,
first, the amount of territory for which they are the distributing and
receiving points ; second, the number of medium or moderate dealers that
do this distributing. Monopolists build up themselves, not the cities.
They neither eat, wear, nor live in proportion to their business. Both
these laws help Chicago.
The tide of trade is eastward — not up or down the map, but across
the map. The lake runs up a wingdam for 500 miles to gather in the
business. Commerce can not ferry up there for seven months in the year,
and the facilities for seven months can do the work for twelve. Then the
great region west of us is nearly all good, productive land. Dropping
south into the trail of St. Louis, you fall into vast deserts and rocky dis¬
tricts, useful in holding the world together. St. Louis and Cincinnati,
instead of rivaling and hurting Chicago, are her greatest sureties of
dominion. They are far enough away to give sea-room, — farther off than
Paris is from London, — and yet they are near enough to prevent the
springing up of any other great city between them.
St. Louis will be helped by the opening of the Mississippi, but also
hurt. That will put New Orleans on her feet, and with a railroad running
over into Texas and so West, she will tap the streams that now crawl up
the Texas and Missouri road. The current is East, not North, and a sea¬
port at New Orleans can not permanently help St. Louis.
Chicago is in the field almost alone, to handle the wealth of one-
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
141
fourth of the territory of this great republic. This strip of seacoast
divides its margins between Portland, Boston, New York, Philadelphia,
Baltimore and Savannah, or some other great port to be created for the
South in the next decade. But Chicago has a dozen empires casting their
treasures into her lap. On a bed of coal that can run all the machinery
of the world for 500 centuries ; in a garden that can feed the race by. the
thousand years; at the head of the lakes that give her a temperature as a
summer resort equaled by no great city in the land ; with a climate that
insures the health of her citizens ; surrounded by all the great deposits
of natural wealth in mines aud forests and herds, Chicago is the wonder
of to-day, and will be the city of the future.
MASSACRE AT FORT DEARBORN.
During the war of 1812, Fort Dearborn became the theater of stirring
events. The garrison consisted of fifty-four men under command of
Captain Nathan Heald, assisted by Lieutenant Helm (son-in-law of Mrs.
Kinzie) and Ensign Ronan. Dr. Voorhees was surgeon. The only resi¬
dents at the post at that time were the wives of Captain Heald and Lieu¬
tenant Helm, and a few of the soldiers, Mr. Kinzie and his family, and
a few Canadian voyageurs , with their wives and children. The soldiers
and Mr. Kinzie were on most friendly terms with the Pottawattamies
and Winnebagos, the principal tribes around them, but they could not
win them from their attachment to the British.
One evening in April, 1812, Mr. Kinzie sat playing on his violin and
his children were dancing to the music, when Mrs. Kinzie came rushing
into the house, pale with terror, and exclaiming: “The Indians! the
Indians ! ” “ What ? Where ? ” eagerly inquired Mr. Kinzie. “ LTp
at Lee’s, killing and scalping,” answered the frightened mother, who,
when the alarm was given, was attending Mrs. Barnes (just confined)
living not far off. Mr. Kinzie and his family crossed the river and took
refuge in the fort, to which place Mrs. Barnes and her infant not a day
old were safely conveyed. The rest of the inhabitants took shelter in the
fort. This alarm was caused by a scalping party of Winnebagos, who
hovered about the fort several days, when they disappeared, and for several
weeks the inhabitants were undisturbed.
On the 7th of August, 1812, General Hull, at Detroit, sent orders to
Captain Heald to evacuate Fort Dearborn, and to distribute all the United
States property to the Indians in the neighborhood — a most insane order.
The Pottawattamie chief, who brought the dispatch, had more wisdom
than the commanding general. He advised Captain Heald not to make
the distribution. Said he : “ Leave the fort and stores as they are, and
let the Indians make distribution for themselves ; and while they are
engaged in the business, the white people may escape to Fort Wayne.’
RUINS OF CHICAGO
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
143
Captain Heald held a council with the Indians on the afternoon of
the 12th, in which his officers refused to join, for they had been informed
that treachery was designed — that the Indians intended to murder the
white people in the council, and then destroy those in the fort. Captain
Heald, however, took the precaution to open a port-hole displaying a
cannon pointing directly upon the council, and by that means saved
his life.
Mr. Kinzie, who knew the Indians well, begged Captain Heald not
to confide in their promises, nor distribute the arms and munitions among
them, for it would only put power into their hands to destroy the whites.
Acting upon this advice, Heald resolved to withhold the munitions of
war ; and on the night of the 13th, after the distribution of the other
property had been made, the powder, ball and liquors were thrown into
the river, the muskets broken up and destroyed.
Black Partridge, a friendly chief, came to Captain Heald, and said:
“ Linden birds have been singing in my ears to-day: be careful on the
march you are going to take.’5 On that dark night vigilant Indians had
crept near the fort and discovered the destruction of their promised booty
going on within. The next morning the powder was seen floating on the
surface of the river. The savages were exasperated and made loud com¬
plaints and threats.
On the following day when preparations were making to leave the
fort, and all the inmates were deeply impressed with a sense of impend¬
ing danger, Capt. Wells, an uncle of Mrs. Heald, was discovered upon
the Indian trail among the sand-hills on the borders of the lake, not far
distant, with a band of mounted Miamis, of whose tribe he was chief,
having been adopted by the famous Miami warrior, Little Turtle. When
news of Hull’s surrender reached Fort Wayne, he had started with this
force to assist Heald in defending Fort Dearborn. He was too late.
Every means for its defense had been destroyed the night before, and
arrangements were made for leaving the fort on the morning of the loth.
It was a warm bright morning in the middle of August. Indications
were positive that the savages intended to murder the white people ; and
when they moved out of the southern gate of the fort, the march was
like a funeral procession. The band, feeling the solemnity of the occa¬
sion, struck up the Dead March in Saul.
Capt. Wells, who had blackened his face with gun-powder in token
of his fate, took the lead with his band of Miamis, followed by Capt.
Heald, with his wife by his side on horseback. Mr. Kinzie hoped by his
personal influence to avert the impending blow, and therefore accompanied
them, leaving his family in a boat in charge of a friendly Indian, to be
taken to his trading station at the site of Niles, Michigan, in the event o.
his death.
VIEW OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
145
The procession moved slowly along the lake shore till they reached
the sand-hills between the prairie and the beach, when the Pottawattamie
escort, under the leadership of Blackbird, filed to the right, placing those
hills between them and the white people. Wells, with his Miamis, had
kept in the advance. They suddenly came rushing back, Wells exclaim¬
ing, 44 They are about to attack us ; form instantly.” These words were
quickly followed by a storm of bullets, which came whistling over the
little hills which the treacherous savages had made the covert for their
murderous attack. The white troops charged upon the Indians, drove
them back to the prairie, and then the battle was waged between fifty-
four soldiers, twelve civilians and three or four women (the cowardly
Miamis having fled at the outset) against five hundred Indian warriors.
The white people, hopeless, resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possible.
Ensign Honan wielded his weapon vigorously, even after falling upon his
knees weak from the loss of blood. Capt. Wells, who was by the side of
his niece, Mrs. Heald, when the conflict began, behaved with the greatest
coolness and courage. He said to her, 44 We have not the slightest chance
for life. We must part to meet no more in this world. God bless vou.”
And then he dashed forward. Seeing a young warrior, painted like a
demon, climb into a wagon in which were twelve children, and tomahawk
them all, he cried out, unmindful of his personal danger, 44 If that is your
game, butchering women and children, I will kill too.” He spurred his
horse towards the Indian camp, where they had left their squaws and
papooses, hotly pursued by swift-footed young warriors, who sent bullets
whistling after him. One of these killed his horse and wounded him
severely in the leg. With a yell the young braves rushed to make him
their prisoner and reserve him for torture. He resolved not to be made
a captive, and by the use of the most provoking epithets tried to induce
them to kill him instantly. He called a fiery young chief a squaw , when
the enraged warrior killed Wells instantly with his tomahawk, jumped
upon his body, cut out his heart, and ate a portion of the warm morsel
with savage delight !
In this fearful combat women bore a conspicuous part. Mrs. Heald
was an excellent equestrian and an expert in the use of the rifle. She
fought the savages bravely, receiving several severe wounds. Though
faint from the loss of blood, she managed to keep her saddle. A savage
raised his tomahawk to kill her, when she looked him full in the face,
and with a sweet smile and in a gentle voice said, in his own language,
44 Surely you will not kill a squaw ! ” The arm of the savage fell, and
the life of the heroic woman was saved.
Mrs. Helm, the step-daughter of Mr. Kinzie, had an encounter with
a stout Indian, who attempted to tomahawk her. Springing to one side,
she received the glancing blow on her shoulder, and at the same instant
146
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
seized the savage round the neck with her arms and endeavored to get
hold of his scalping knife, which hung in a sheath at his breast. While
she was thus struggling she was dragged from her antagonist by another
powerful Indian, who bore her, in spite of her struggles, to the margin
of the lake and plunged her in. To her astonishment she was held by
him so that she would not drown, and she soon perceived that she was
in the hands of the friendly Black Partridge, who had saved her life.
The wife of Sergeant Holt, a large and powerful woman, behaved as
bravely as an Amazon. She rode a fine, high-spirited horse, which the
Indians coveted, and several of them attacked her with the butts of their
guns, for the purpose of dismounting her ; but she used the sword which
she had snatched from her disabled husband so skillfully that she foiled
them ; and, suddenly wheeling her horse, she dashed over the prairie,
followed by the savages shouting, “ The brave woman ! the brave woman !
Don’t hurt her ! ” They finally overtook her, and while she was fighting
them in front, a powerful savage came up behind her, seized her by the
neck and dragged her to the ground. Horse and woman were made
captives. Mrs. Holt was a long time a captive among the Indians, but
was afterwards ransomed.
In this sharp conflict two-thirds of the white people were slain and
wounded, and all their horses, baggage and provision were lost. Only
twenty-eight straggling men now remained to fight five hundred Indians
rendered furious by the sight of blood. They succeeded in breaking
through the ranks of the murderers and gaining a slight eminence on the
prairie near the Oak Woods. The Indians did not pursue, but gathered
on their flanks, while the chiefs held a consultation on the sand-hills, and
showed signs of willingness to parley. It would have been madness on
the part of the whites to renew the fight ; and so Capt. Heald went for¬
ward and met Blackbird on the open prairie, where terms of surrender
were soon agreed upon. It was arranged that the white people should
give up their arms to Blackbird, and that the survivors should become
prisoners of war, to be exchanged for ransoms as soon as practicable.
With this understanding captives and captors started for the Indian
camp near the fort, to which Mrs. Helm had been taken bleeding and
suffering b}r Black Partridge, and had met her step-father and learned
that her husband was safe.
A new scene of horror was now opened at the Indian camp. The
wounded, not being included in the terms of surrender, as it was inter¬
preted by the Indians, and the British general, Proctor, having offered a
liberal bounty for American scalps, delivered at Malden, nearly all the
wounded men were killed and scalped, and the price of the trophies was
afterwards paid by the British government.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
149
SHABBONA.
[This was engraved from a daguerreotype, taken when Shabbona was 83 years old.]
This celebrated Indian chief, whose portrait appears in this work, deserves
more than a passing notice. Although Shabbona was not so conspicuous as
Tecumseh or Black Hawk, yet in point of merit he was superior to either
of them.
Shabbona was born at an Indian village on the Kankakee River, now in
Will County, about the year 1775. While young he was made chief of the
band, and went to Shabbona Grove, now DeKalb County, where they were
found in the early settlement of the county.
In the war of 1812, Shabbona, with his warriors, joined Tecumseh. was
150
HISTOftY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.
aid to that great chief, and stood by his side when he fell at the battle of
the Thames. At the time of the Winnebago war, in 1827, he visited almost
every village among the Pottawatomies, and by his persuasive arguments
prevented them from taking part in the war. By request of the citizens
of Chicago, Shabbona, accompanied by Billy Caldwell (Sauganash), visited
Big Foot’s village at Geneva Lake, in order to pacify the warriors, as fears
were entertained that they were about to raise the tomahawk against the
whites. Here Shabbona was taken prisoner by Big Foot, and his life
threatened, but on the following day was set at liberty. From that time
the Indians (through reproach) styled him “ the white man’s friend,’’
and many times his life was endangered.
Before the Black Hawk war, Shabbona met in council at two differ¬
ent times, and by his influence prevented his people from taking part with
the Sacs and Foxes. After the death of Black Partridge and Senachwine,
no chief among" the Pottawatomies exerted so much influence as Shabbona.
Black Hawk, aware of this influence, visited him at two different times, in
order to enlist him in his cause, but was unsuccessful. While Black Hawk
was a prisoner at Jefferson Barracks, he said, had it not been for Shabbona
the whole Pottawatomie nation would have joined his standard, and he
could have continued the war for years.
To Shabbona many of the early settlers of Illinois owe the pres¬
ervation of their lives, for it is a well-known fact, had he not notified the
people of their danger, a large portion of them would have fallen victims
to the tomahawk of savages. By saving the lives of whites he endangered
his own, for the Sacs and Foxes threatened to kill him, and made two
attempts to execute their threats. They killed Pypeogee, his son, and
Pyps, his nephew, and hunted him down as though he was a wild beast.
Shabbona had a reservation of two sections of land at his Grove, but
by leaving it and going west for a short time, the Government declared
the reservation forfeited, and sold it the same as other vacant land. On
Shabbona’s return, and finding his possessions gone, he was very sad and
broken down in spirit, and left the Grove for ever. The citizens of Ottawa
raised money and bought him a tract of land on the Illinois River, above
Seneca, in Grundy County, on which they built a house, and supplied
him with means to live on. He lived here until his death, which occurred
on the 17th of July, 1859, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, and was
buried with great pomp in the cemetery at Morris. His squaw, Pokanoka,
was drowned in Mazen Creek, Grundy County, on the 80th of November,
1864, and was buried by his side.
In 1861 subscriptions were taken up in many of the river towns, to
erect a monument over the remains of Shabbona, but the war breaking
out, the enterprise was abandoned. Only a plain marble slab marks the
resting-place of this friend of the white man.
Abstract of Illinois State Laws.
BILLS OF EXCHANGE AND PROMISSORY NOTES.
No promissory note, cheek, draft, hill of exchange, order, or note, nego-
tiable instrument payable at sight, or on demand, or on presentment, shall
be entitled to days of grace . All other bills of exchange , drafts or notes are
entitled to three days of grace. All the above mentioned paper falling
due on Sunday , New Nears Nay , the Fourth of July , Christmas , or any
day appointed or recommended by the President of the United States or
the G-overnor of the State as a day of fast or thanksgiving, shall be deemed
as due on the day previous, and should two or more of these days come
together, then such instrument shall be treated as due on the day previous
to the first of said days. No defense can be made against a negotiable
instrument ( assigned before due') in the hands of the assignee without
notice, except fraud was used in obtaining the same. To hold an indorser ,
due diligence must be used by suit , in collecting of the maker, unless suit
would have been unavailing. Notes payable to person named or to order,
in order to absolutely transfer title , must be indorsed by the payee. Notes
payable to bearer may be transferred by delivery , and when so payable
every indorser thereon is held as a guarantor of payment unless otherwise
expressed.
In computing interest or discount on negotiable instruments, a month
shall be considered a calendar month or twelfth of a year , and for less
than a month, a day shall be figured a thirtieth part of a month. Notes
only bear interest when so expressed, but after due they draw the legal
interest, even if not stated.
INTEREST.
The legal rate of interest is six per cent. Parties may agree in writ¬
ing on a rate not exceeding ten per cent. If a rate of interest greater
than ten per cent, is contracted for, it works a forfeiture of the whole of
said interest , and only the principal can be recovered.
DESCENT.
When no will is made , the property of a deceased person is distrib¬
uted as follows :
152
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
First. To his or her children and their descendants in equal parts ;
the descendants of the deceased child or grandchild taking the share of
their deceased parents in equal parts among them.
Second. Where there is no child, nor descendant of such child, and
no widow or surviving husband, then to the parents, brothers and sisters
of the deceased, and their descendants, in equal parts, the surviving
parent, if either be dead, taking a double portion ; and if there is no
parent living, then to the brothers and sisters of the intestate and their
descendants.
Third. When there is a widoiv or surviving husband , and no child or
children , or descendants of the same, then one-half of the real estate and
the whole of the personal estate shall descend to such widoiv or surviving
husband , absolutely, and the other half of the real estate shall descend as
in other cases where there is no child or children or descendants of the
same.
Fourth. When there is a widow or surviving husband and also a child
or children , or descendants of the latter, then one third of all the personal
estate to the widow or surviving husband absolutely.
Fifth. If there is no child , parent , brother or sister , or descendants of
either of them, and no widow or surviving husband, then in equal parts
to the next of kin to the intestate in equal degree. Collaterals shall not
be represented except with the descendants of brothers and sisters of the
intestate, and there shall be no distinction betiveen kindred of the whole
and the half blood.
Sixth. If any intestate leaves a widow or surviving husband and no
kindred , then to such widoiv or surviving husband ; and if there is no such
widow or surviving husband, it shall escheat to and vest in the county
where the same, or the greater portion thereof, is situated.
WILLS AND ESTATES OF DECEASED PERSONS.
No exact form of words are necessary in order to make a will good -at
law. Every male person of the age of twenty-one years , and ever y female
of the age of eighteen years , of sound mind and memory , can make a valid
will ; it must be in writing , signed by the testator or by some one in his
or her presence and by his or her direction, and attested by two 01 moie
credible witnesses. Care should be taken that the witnesses are not inter¬
ested in the will. Persons knowing themselves to have been named in the
will or appointed executor, must within thirty days of the death of
deceased cause the will to be proved and recorded in the proper county,
or present it, and refuse to accept / on failure to do so are liable to forfeit
the sum of twenty dollars per month. Inventory to be made by executor
or administrator within three months from date of letters testamentary or
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
153
of administration. Executors and administrators5 compensation not to
exceed six per cent, on amount of personal estate, and three per cent,
on money realized from real estate, with such additional allowance a?
shall be reasonable for extra services. Appraisers ' compensation $2 pei
day.
Notice requiring all claims to be presented against the estate shall btf
given by the executor or administrator within six months of being quali¬
fied. Any person having a claim and not presenting it at the time fixed
by said notice is required to have summons issued notifying the executor
or administrator of his having filed his claim in court ; in such cases the
costs have to be paid by the claimant. Claims should be filed within two
years from the time administration is granted on an estate, as after that
time they are forever barred, unless other estate is found that was not in¬
ventoried. Married women, inf ants, persons insane, imprisoned or without
the United States, in the employment of the United States, or of this
State, have two years after their disabilities are removed to file claims.
Claims are classified and paid out of the estate in the folio wing manner:
First. Funeral expenses.
Second. The widow's award, if there is a widow ; or children if there
are children, and no widow.
Third. Expenses attending the last illness , not including physician’s
bill.
Fourth. Debts due the common school or township fund .
Fifth. All expenses of proving the ivill and taking out letters testa¬
mentary or administration, and settlement of the estate, and the physi¬
cian's bill in the last illness of deceased.
Sixth. Where the deceased has received money in trust for any pur¬
pose, his executor or administrator shall pay out of his estate the amount
received and not accounted for.
Seventh. All other debts and demands of whatsoever kind, without
regard to quality or dignity, which shall be exhibited to the court within
two years from the granting of letters.
Award to Widow and Children , exclusive of debts and legacies or be¬
quests, except funeral expenses :
First. The family pictures and wearing apparel, jewels and ornaments
of herself and minor children.
Second. School books and the family library of the value of $100.
Third . One sewing machine.
Fourth. Necessary beds, bedsteads and bedding for herself and family.
Fifth. The stoves and pipe used in the family, with the necessary
cooking utensils, or in case they have none, $50 in money.
Sixth. Household and kitchen furniture to the value of $100.
Seventh. One milch cow and calf for every four members of her family.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
154
Eighth. Two sheep for each member of her family, and the fleeces
taken from the same, and one horse , saddle and bridle.
Ninth. Provisions for herself and family for one year.
Tenth. Food for the stock above specified for six months.
Eleventh. Fuel for herself and family for three months.
Twelfth. One hundred dollars worth of other property suited to her
condition in life, to be selected by the widow.
The widow if she elects may have in lieu of the said award, the same
personal property or money in place thereof as is or may be exempt from
execution or attachment against the head of a family.
TAXES.
The owners of real and personal property, on the first day of May in
each year, are liable for the taxes thereon.
Assessments should be completed before the fourth Monday in June ,
at which time the town board of review meets to examine assessments,
hear objections , and make such changes as ought to be made. The county
board have also power to correct or change assessments.
The tax books are placed in the hands of the town collector on or
before t* e tenth day of December, who retains them until the tenth day
of March following, when he is required to return them to the county
treasurer, who then collects all delinquent taxes.
No costs accrue on real estate taxes till advertised , which takes place
the first day of April, when three weeks’ notice is required before judg¬
ment. Cost of advertising, twenty cents each tract of land, and ten cents
each lot.
Judgment is usually obtained at May term of County Court. Costs
six cents each tract of land, and five cents each lot. Sale takes place in
June. Costs in addition to those before mentioned, twenty-eight cents
each tract of land, and twenty-seven cents each town lot.
Real estate sold for taxes may be redeemed any time before the expi¬
ration of two years from the date of sale, by payment to the County Clerk
of the amount for which it was sold and twenty-five per cent, thereon if
redeemed within six months, fifty per cent, if between six and twelve
months, if between twelve and eighteen months seventy-five per cent.,
and if between eighteen months and two years one hundred per cent.,
and in addition, all subsequent taxes paid by the purchaser, with ten per
cent, interest thereon, also one dollar each tract if notice is given by the
purchaser of the sale, and a fee of twenty-five cents to the clerk for his
certificate.
JURISDICTION OF COURTS.
Justices have jurisdiction in all civil cases on contracts for the recovery
of moneys for damages for injury to real property , or taking, detaining, or
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
155
injuring personal property ; for rent; for all cases to recover damages done
real or personal property by railroad companies, in actions of replevin , and
in actions for damages for fraud in the sale , purchase , or exchange of per¬
sonal property , when the amount claimed as due is not over $200. They
have also jurisdiction in all cases for violation of the ordinances of cities ,
towns or villages. A justice of the peace may orally order an officer -or a
private person to arrest any one committing or attempting to commit a
criminal offense. He also upon complaint can issue his warrant for the
arrest of any person accused of having committed a crime , and have him
brought before him for examination.
COUNTY COURTS
Have jurisdiction in all matters of probate (except in counties having a
population of one hundred thousand or over), settlement of estates of
deceased persons , appointment of guardians and conservators , and settle¬
ment of their accounts; all matters relating to apprentices ; proceedings
for the collection of taxes and assessments , and in proceedings of executors,
administrators , guardians and conservators for the sale of real estate. In
law cases they have concurrent jurisdiction with Circuit Courts in all
cases where justices of the peace now have, or hereafter may have,
jurisdiction when the amount claimed shall not exceed $1,000, and in all
criminal offenses where the punishment is not imprisonment in the peni¬
tentiary, or death, and in all cases of appeals from justices of the peace
and police magistrates ; excepting when the county judge is sitting as a
justice of the peace. Circuit Courts have unlimited jurisdiction.
LIMITATION OF ACTION.
Accounts five years. Notes and written contracts ten years. Judg¬
ments twenty years. Partial payments or new promise in writing, within
or after said period, will revive the debt. Absence from the State deducted,
and when the cause of action is barred by the law of another State, it has
the same effect here. Slander and libel, one year. Personal injuries, two
years. To recover land or make entry thereon, twenty years. Action to
foreclose mortgage or trust deed, or make a sale, within ten years.
All persons in possession of land, and paying taxes for seven consecu¬
tive years, with color of title, and all persons paying taxes for seven con¬
secutive years, with color of title, on vacant land, shall be held to be the
legal owners to the extent of their paper title.
MARRIED WOMEN
May sue and be sued. Husband and wife not liable for each other's debts,
either before or after marriage, but both are liable for expenses and edu¬
cation of the family.
4
156
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
She may contract the same as if unmarried , except that in a partner¬
ship business she can not, without consent of her husband, unless he has
abandoned or deserted her , or is idiotic or insane, or confined in peniten¬
tiary ; she is entitled and can recover her own earnings, but neither hus¬
band nor wife is entitled to compensation for any services rendered for the
other. At the death of the husband, in addition to widow’s award, a
married woman has a dower interest (one-third) in all real estate owned
by her husband after their marriage, and which has not been released by
her, and the husband has the same interest in the real estate of the wife
at her death.
EXEMPTIONS FROM FORCED SALE.
Home worth $1,000, and the following Personal Property : Lot of ground
and buildings thereon, occupied as a residence by the debtor, being a house¬
holder and having a family, to the value of $1,000. Exemption continues
after the death of the householder for the benefit of widow and family, some
one of them occupying the homestead until youngest child shall become
twenty-one years of age , and until death of widow. There is no exemption
from sale for taxes , assessments, debt or liability incurred for the purchase
or improvement of said homestead. No release or waiver of exemption is
valid, unless in writing, and subscribed by such householder and wife (if
he have one), and acknowledged as conveyances of real estate are required
to be acknowledged. The following articles of personal property owned
by the debtor, are exempt from execution , writ of attachment , and distress
for rent : The necessary wearing apparel , Bibles, school books and family
pictures of every person ; and, 2d, one hundred dollars worth of other
property to be selected by the debtor, and, in addition, when the debtor
is the head of a family and resides with the same, three hundred dollars
worth of other property to be selected by the debtor ; provided that such
selection and exemption shall not be made by the debtor or allowed to
him or her from any money, salary or wages due him or her from any
person or persons or corporations whatever.
When the head of a family shall die, desert or not reside with the
same, the family shall be entitled to and receive all the benefit and priv¬
ileges which are by this act conferred upon the head of a family residing
with the same. No personal property is exempt from execution when
judgment is obtained for the wages of laborers or servants . Wages of a
laborer who is the head of a family can not be garnisheed, except the sum
due him be in excess of $25.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
157
DEEDS AND MORTGAGES.
To be valid there must be a valid consideration. Special care should
be taken to have them signed, sealed, delivered, and properly acknowl¬
edged, with the proper seal attached. Witnesses are not required. The
acknowledgement must be made in this state, before Master in Chancery .
Notary Public , United States Commissioner , Circuit or County Clerk, Justice
of Peace , or any Court of Record having a seal , or any Judge , Justice , or
Clerk of any such Court. When taken before a Notary Public , or United
States Commissioner , the same shall be attested by his official seal , when
taken before a Court or the Clerk thereof, the same shall be attested by
the seal of such Court , and when taken before a Justice of the Peace resid¬
ing out of the county where the real estate to be conveyed lies, there shall
be added a certificate of the County Clerk under his seal of office, that lie
was a Justice of the Peace in the county at the time of taking the same.
A deed is good without such certificace attached, but can not be used in
evidence unless such a certificate is produced or other competent evidence
introduced. Acknowledgements made out of the state must either be
executed according to the laws of this state, or there should be attached
a certificate that it is in conformity with the laws of the state or country
where executed. Where this is not done the same may be proved by any
other legal way. Acknowledgments where the Homestead rights are to
be waived must state as follows: “Including the release and waiver of
the right of homestead.”
Notaries Public can take acknowledgements any where in the state.
Sheriffs , if authorized by the mortgagor of real or personal property
in his mortgage, may sell the property mortgaged.
In the case of the death of grantor or holder of the equity of redemp¬
tion of real estate mortgaged, or conveyed by deed of trust where equity
of redemption is waived, and it contains power of sale, must be foreclosed
in the same manner as a common mortgage in court.
ESTRAYS.
Horses , mules , asses , neat cattle , swine , sheep , or goats found straying
at any time during the year, in counties where such animals are not allowed
to run at large, or between the last day of October and the 15th day of
April in other counties, the owner thereof being unknown , may be taken up
as estrays.
No person not a householder in the county where estray is found can
lawfully take up an estray, and then only upon or about his farm or place
of residence. Estrays should not be used before advertised , except animals
giving milk, which may be milked for their benefit.
158
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
Notices must be posted up within five (5) days in three (3) of the
most public places in the town or precinct in which estray was found, giv¬
ing the residence of the taker up, and a particular description of the
estray, its age, color, and marks natural and artificial, and stating before
what justice of the peace in such town or precinct, and at what time, not
less than ten (10) nor more than fifteen (15) days from the time of post¬
ing such notices, he will apply to have the estray appraised.
A copy of such notice should be filed by the taker up with the town
clerk , whose duty it is to enter the same at large, in a book kept by him
for that purpose.
If the owner of estray shall not have appeared and proved ownership ,
and taken the same away, first paying the taker up his reasonable charges
for taking up, keeping, and advertising the same, the taker up shall appear
before the justice of the peace mentioned in above mentioned notice, and
make an affidavit as required by law.
As the affidavit has to be made before the justice, and all other steps as
to appraisement, etc., are before him, who is familiar therewith, they are
therefore omitted here.
Any person taking up an estray at any other place than about or
upon his farm or residence, or ivithout complying with the law , shall forfeit
and pay a fine of ten dollars with costs.
Ordinary diligence is required in taking care of estrays , but in case
they die or get away the taker is not liable for the same.
GAME.
It is unlawful for any person to kill, or attempt to kill or destroy, in
any manner, any prairie hen or chicken or woodcock between the 15th day
of January and the 1st day of September; or any deer , fawn , wild-turkey,
partridge or pheasant between the 1st day of February and the 1st day
of October; or any quail between the 1st day of February and 1st day of
November ; or any wild goose, duck, snipe, brant or other water fowl
between the 1st day of May and 15tli day of August in each year.
Penalty : Fine not less than $5 nor more than $25, for each bird or
animal, and costs of suit, and stand committed to county jail until fine is
paid, but not exceeding ten days. It is unlauful to hunt with gun , dog
or net within the inclosed grounds or lands of another without permission.
Penalty: Fine not less than $3 nor more than $100, to be paid into
school fund.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
Whenever any of the following articles shall be contracted for, or
sold or delivered, and no special contract or agreement shall be made. to
the contrary, the weight per bushel shall be as follows, to-wit :
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
159
Stone Coal, - - -
Pounds.
- 80
Unslacked Lime,
- 80
Corn in the ear,
- 70
Wheat, -
- 60
Irish Potatoes,
- 60
White Beans,
- 60
Clover Seed, - - -
- 60
Onions, -
- 57
Shelled Corn,
- 56
Rye, - - - . -
Flax Seed, -
56
- 56
Sweet Potatoes, -
- 55
Turnips, -
- 55
Fine Salt, - - -
55
Pounds.
Buckwheat, - - - -52
Coarse Salt, 50
Barley, - - - - - 48
Corn Meal, 48
Castor Beans, - - - 46
Timothy Seed, - - - - 45
Hemp Seed, - - - - 44
Malt, ----- 88
Dried Peaches, - - - 33
Oats, ----- 32
Dried Apples, - - - 24
Bran, ----- 20
Blue Grass Seed, - - - 14
Hair (plastering), - - 8
Penalty for giving less than the above standard is double the amount
of property wrongfully not given, and ten dollars addition thereto.
MILLERS.
The owner or occupant of every public grist mill in this state shall
grind all grain brought to his mill in its turn. The toll for both steam
and water mills, is, for grinding and bolting wheat , rye, or other grain , one
eighth part; for grinding Indian corn , oats , barley and buckwheat not
required to be bolted , one seventh part; for grinding malt, and chopping all
kinds of grain, one eighth part. It is the duty of every miller when his
mill is in repair, to aid and assist in loading and unloading all grain brought
to him to be ground, and he is also required to keep an accurate half
bushel measure , and an accurate set of toll dishes or scales for weighing
the grain. The penalty for neglect or refusal to comply with the law is
|5, to the use of any person to sue for the same, to be recovered before
any justice of the peace of the county where penalty is incurred. Millers
are accountable for the safe keeping of all grain left in his mill for the
purpose of being ground, with bags or casks containing same (except it
results from unavoidable accidents), provided that such bags or casks are
distinctly marked with the initial letters of the owner s name.
MARKS AND BRANDS.
Owners of cattle, horses, hogs, sheep or goats may have one earmark
and one brand, but which shall be different from his neighbor's , and may
be recorded by the county clerk of the county in which such property is
kept. Th efee for such record is fifteen cents. The record of such shall
be open to examination free of charge. In cases of disputes as to maiks
or brands, such record is prima facie evidence. Owners ot cattle, houses,
hogs, sheep or goats that may have been branded by the tonne i owner ,
160
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
may be re-branded in presence of one or more of his neighbors, who shall
certify to the facts of the marking or branding being done, when done,
and in what brand or mark they were re-branded or re-marked, which
certificate may also be recorded as before stated.
ADOPTION OF CHILDREN.
Children may be adopted by any resident of this state, by filing a
petition in the Circuit or County Court of the county in which he resides,
asking leave to do so, and if desired may ask that the name of the child
be changed. Such petition, if made by a person having a husband or
wife, will not be granted, unless the husband or wife joins therein, as the
adoption must be by them jointly.
The petition shall state name, sex, and age of the child, and the new
name, if it is desired to change the name. Also the name and residence
of the parents of the child, if known, and of the guardian, if any, and
whether the parents or guardians consent to the adoption.
The court must find, before granting decree, that the parents of the
child , or the survivors of them, have deserted his or her family or such
child for one year next preceding the application, or if neither are living,
the guardian ; if no guardian, the next of kin in this state capable of giving
consent, has had notice of the presentation of the petition and consents
to such adoption. If the child is of the age of fourteen years or upwards,
the adoption can not be made without its consent.
SURVEYORS AND SURVEYS.
There is in every county elected a surveyor known as county sur¬
veyor, who has power to appoint deputies, for whose official acts he is
responsible. It is the duty of the county surveyor , either by himself or
his deputy, to make all surveys that he may be called upon to make within
his county as soon as may be after application is made. The necessary
chainmen and other assistance must be employed by the person requiring
the same to be done, and to be by him paid, unless otherwise agreed ; but
the chainmen must be disinterested persons and approved by the surveyor
and sworn by him to measure justly and impartially.
The County Board in each count}7 is required by law to provide a copy
of the United States field notes and plats of their surveys of the lands
in the county to be kept in the recorder's office subject to examination
by the public, and the county surveyor is required to make his surveys
in conformity to said notes, plats and the laws of the United States gov¬
erning such matters. The surveyor is also required to keep a record
of all surveys made by him, which shall be subject to inspection by any
one interested, and shall be delivered up to his successor in office. A
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
161
certified copy of the said surveyor’s record shall be prima facie evidence
of its contents.
The fees of county surveyors are six dollars per day. The county
surveyor is also ex officio inspector of mines , and as such, assisted by some
practical miner selected by him, shall once each year inspect all the
mines in the county, for which they shall each receive such compensa¬
tion as may be fixed by the County Board, not exceeding $5 a day, to
be paid out of the county treasury.
ROADS AND BRIDGES.
AVTeie piacticable from the nature of the ground, persons traveling
in any kind of vehicle, must turn to the right of the center of the road, so
as to permit each carriage to pass without interfering with each other.
The penalty for a violation of this provision is $5 for every offense, to
be recovered by the party injured; but to recover, there must have
occurred some injury to person or property resulting from the violation.
The owners of any carriage traveling upon any road in this State for the
conveyance of passengers who shall employ or continue in his emplovment
as driver any person who is addicted to drunkenness , or the excessive use of
spiritous liquors, after he has had notice of the same, shall forfeit , at the
rate of $5 per day, and if any driver while actually engaged in driving
any .such carriage, shall be guilty of intoxication to such a degree as to
endanger the safety of passengers , it shall be the duty of the owner, on
receiving written notice of the fact, signed hy one of the passengers , and
certified by him on oath , forthwith to discharge such driver. If such owner
shall have such driver in his employ within three months after such notice,
he is liable for $5 per day for the time he shall keep said driver in his
employment after receiving such notice.
Persons driving any carriage on any public highway are prohibited
from running their horses upon any occasion under a penalty of a fine not
exceeding $10, or imprisonment not exceeding sixty days, at the discre¬
tion of the court. Horses attached to any carriage used to convey passen¬
gers for hire must be properly hitched or the lines placed in the hands of
some other person before the driver leaves them for any purpose. For
violation of this provision each driver shall forfeit twenty dollars , to be
recovered by action, to be commenced within six months. It is under¬
stood by the term carriage herein to mean any carriage or vehicle used
for the transportation of passengers or goods or either of them.
The commissioners of highways in the different towns have the care
and superintendence of highways and bridges therein. They have all
the powers necessary to lay out, vacate, regulate and repair all roads*
build and repair bridges. In addition to the above, it is their duty to
erect and keep in repair at the forks or crossing-place of the most
162
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
important roads post and guide boards with plain inscriptions, giving
directions and distances to the most noted places to which such road may
lead ; also to make provisions to prevent thistles, burdock, and cockle
burrs, mustard, yellow dock, Indian mallow and jimson weed from
seeding, and to extirpate the same as far as practicable, and to prevent
all rank growth of vegetation on the public highways so far as the same
may obstruct public travel, and it is in their discretion to erect watering
places for public use for watering teams at such points as may be deemed
advisable.
The Commissioners, on or before the 1st day of May of each year,
shall make out and deliver to their treasurer a list of all able-bodied men
in their town, excepting paupers, idiots, lunatics, and such others as are
exempt by law, and assess against each the sum of two dollars as a poll
tax for highway purposes. Within thirty days after such list is delivered
they shall cause a written or printed notice to be given to each person so
assessed, notifying him of the time when and place where such tax must
be paid, or its equivalent in labor performed ; they may contract with
persons owing such poll tax to perform a certain amount of labor on any
road or bridge in payment of the same, and if such tax is not paid nor
labor performed by the first Monday of July of such year, or within ten
days after notice is given after that time, they shall bring suit therefor
against such person before a justice of the peace, who shall hear and
determine the case according to law for the offense complained of, and
shall forthwith issue an execution, directed to any constable of the county
where the delinquent shall reside, who shall forthwith collect the moneys
therein mentioned.
The Commissioners of Highways of each town shall annually ascer-t
tain, as near as practicable, how much money must be raised by tax on real
and personal property for the making and repairing of roads, only, to any
amount they may deem necessary, not exceeding forty cents on each one
hundred dollars’ worth, as valued on the assessment roll of the previous
}Tear. The tax so levied on property lying within an incorporated village,
town or city, shall be paid over to the corporate authorities of such town,
village or city. Commissioners shall receive $1.50 for each day neces¬
sarily employed in the discharge of their duty.
Overseers. At the first meeting the Commissioners shall choose one
of their number to act General Overseer of Highways in their township,
whose duty it shall be to take charge of and safely keep all tools, imple¬
ments and machinery belonging to said town, and shall, by the direction
of the Board, have general supervision of all roads and bridges in their
town.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
163
As all township and county officers are familiar with their duties, it
is only intended to give the points of the law that the public should be
familiar with. The manner of laying out, altering or vacating roads, etc.,
will not be here stated, as it would require more space than is contem¬
plated in a work of this kind. It is sufficient to state that, the first step
is by petition, addressed to the Commissioners, setting out what is prayed
for, giving the names of the owners of lands if known, if not known so
state, over which the road is to pass, giving the general course, its place
of beginning, and where it terminates. It requires not less than twelve
freeholders residing within three miles of the road who shall sign the
petition. Public roads must not be less than fifty feet wide, nor more
than sixty feet wide. Roads not exceeding two miles in length, if peti¬
tioned for, may be laid out, not less than forty feet. Private roads
for piivate ancf public use, may be laid out of the width of three rods, on
petition of the person directly interested ; the damage occasioned thereby
shall be paid by the premises benefited thereby, and before the road is
opened. If not opened in two years, the order shall be considered
rescinded. Commissioners in their discretion may permit persons who
live on or have private roads, to work out their road tax thereon. Public
loads must be opened in five days from date of filing order of location,
or be deemed vacated.
DRAINAGE.
Whenever one or more owners or occupants of land desire to construct
a drain or ditch across the land of others for agricultural , sanitary or
mining purposes , the proceedings are as follows:
File a petition in the Circuit or County Court of the county in which
the proposed ditch or drain is to be constructed, setting forth the neces¬
sity for the same, with a description of its proposed starting point, route
and terminus, and if it shall be necessary for the drainage of the land or
coal mines or for sanitary purposes, that a drain, ditch, levee or similar
work be constructed, a description of the same. It shall also set forth
the names of all persons owning the land over which such drain or ditch
shall be constructed, or if unknown stating that fact.
No private property shall be taken or damaged for the purpose of
constructing a ditch, drain or levee, without compensation, if claimed by
the owner, the same to be ascertained by a jury; but if the construction
of such ditch, drain or levee shall be a benefit to the owner, the same
shall be a set off against such compensation.
If the pi'oceedings seek to affect the property of a minor, lunatic or
married woman, the guardian, conservator or husband of the same shall
be made party defendant. The petition may be amended and parties
made defendants at any time when it is necessary to a fair trial.
164
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
When the petition is presented to the judge, he shall note therein
when he will hear the same, and order the issuance of summonses and
the publication of notice to each non-resident or unknown defendant.
The petition may be heard by such judge in vacation as well as in
term time. Upon the trial, the jury shall ascertain the just compensation
to each owner of the property sought to be damaged by the construction
of such ditch, drain or levee, and truly report the same.
As it is only contemplated in a work of this kind to give an abstract
of the laws, and as the parties who have in charge the execution of the
further proceedings are likely to be familiar with the requirements of the
statute, the necessary details are not here inserted.
WOLF SCALPS.
The County Board of any county in this State may hereafter alh/w
such bounty on ivolf scalps as the board may deem reasonable.
Any person claiming a bounty shall produce the scalp or scalps with
the ears thereon, within sixty days after the wolf or wolves shall have
been caught, to the Clerk of the County Board, who shall administer to
said person the following oath or affirmation, to-wit: “lou do solemnly
swear (or affirm, as the case may be),, that the scalp or scalps here pro¬
duced by you was taken from a wolf or wolves killed and first captured
by yourself within the limits of this county, and within the sixty days
last past.”
CONVEYANCES.
When the reversion expectant on a lease of any tenements or here¬
ditaments of any tenure shall be surrendered or merged, the estate which
shall for the time being confer as against the tenant under the same lease
the next vested right to the same tenements or hereditaments, shall, to
the extent and for the purpose of preserving such incidents to and obli¬
gations on the same reversion, as but for the surrender or merger thereof,
would have subsisted, be deemed the reversion expectant on the same
lease.
PAUPERS.
Every poor person who shall be unable to earn a livelihood in conse¬
quence ot any bodily infirmity , idiocy , lunacy or unavoidable cause , shall
be supported by the father, grand-father, mother, grand-mother, children,
grand-children, brothers or sisters of such poor person, if they or either
of them be of sufficient ability ; but if any of such dependent class shall
have become so from intemperance or other bad conduct , they shall not be
entitled to support from any relation except parent or child.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
167
The children shall first be called on to support their parents, if they
are able ; but if not, the parents of such poor person shall then be called
on, if of sufficient ability ; and if there be no parents or children able,
then the brothers and sisters of such dependent person shall be called
upon ; and if there be no brothers or sisters of sufficient ability, the
grand-children of such person shall next be called on ; and if they are
not able, then the grand-parents. Married females, while their husbands
live, shall not be liable to contribute for the support of their poor relations
except out of their separate property. It is the duty of the state’s
(county) attorney, to make complaint to the County Court of his county
against all the relatives of such paupers in this state liable to his support
and prosecute the same. In case the state’s attorney neglects, or refuses, to
complain in such cases, then it is the duty of the overseer of the poor to
do so. The person called upon to contribute shall have at least ten days’
notice of such application by summons. The court has the power to
determine the kind of support, depending upon the circumstances of the
parties, and may also order two or more of the different degrees' to main¬
tain such poor person, and prescribe the proportion of each, according to
their ability. The court may specify the time for which the relative shall
contribute — in fact has control over the entire subject matter, with power
to enforce its orders. Every county (except those in which the poor are
supported by the towns, and in such cases the towns are liable) is required
to relieve and support all poor and indigent persons lawfully resident
therein. Residence means the actual residence of the party, or the place
where he was employed ; or in case he was in no employment, then it
shall be the place where he made his home. When any person becomes
chargeable as a pauper in any county or town who did not reside at the
commencement of six months immediately preceding his becoming so,
but did at that time reside in some other county or town in this state,
then the county or town, as the case may be, becomes liable for the expense
of taking care of such person until removed, and it is the duty of the
overseer to notify the proper authorities of the fact. If any person shall
bring and leave any pauper in any county in this state where such pauper
had no legal residence, knowing him to be such, he is liable to a fine ol
8100. In counties under township organization, the supervisors in each
town are ex-officio overseers of the poor. The overseers of the poor act
under the directions of the County Board in taking care of the poor and
granting of temporary relief ; also, providing for non-resident persons not
paupers who may be taken sick and not able to pay their way, and in case
of death cause such person to be decently buried.
The residence of the inmates of poorhouses and other charitable
institutions for voting purposes is their former place of abode.
168
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
FENCES.
In counties under township organization, the town assessor and com¬
missioner of highways are the fence-viewers in their respective towns.
In other counties the County Board appoints three in each precinct annu-
ally. A lawful fence is four and one-half feet high , in good repair, con¬
sisting of rails, timber, boards, stone, hedges, or whatever the fence-
viewers of the town or precinct where the same shall lie, shall consider
equivalent thereto, but in counties under township organization the annual
town meeting may establish any other kind of fence as such, or the County
Board in other counties may do the same. Division fences shall be made
and maintained in just proportion by the adjoining owners, except when
the owner shall choose to let his land lie open, but after a division fence is
built by agreement or otherwise, neither party can remove his part of such
fence so long as he may crop or use such land for farm purposes, or without
giving the other party one year’s notice in writing of his intention to remove
his portion. When any person shall enclose his land upon the enclosure
of another, he shall refund the owner of the adjoining lands a just pro¬
portion of the value at that time of such fence. The value of fence and
the just proportion to be paid or built and maintained by each is to be
ascertained by two fence-viewers in the town or precinct. Such fence-
viewers have power to settle all disputes between different owners as to
fences built or to be built, as well as to repairs to be made. Each party
chooses one of the viewers, but if the other party neglects, after eight
days’ notice in writing, to make his choice, then the other party may
select both. It is sufficient to notify the tenant or party in possession,
when the owner is not a resident of the town or precinct. The two
fence-viewers chosen, after viewing the premises, shall hear the state¬
ments of the parties , in case they can’t agree, they shall select another
fence-viewer to act with them, and the decision of any two of them is
final. The decision must be reduced to writing, and should plainly set
out description of fence and all matters settled by them, and must be
filed in the office of the town clerk in counties under township organiza¬
tion, and in other counties with the county clerk.
Where any person is liable to contribute to the erection or the
repairing of a division fence, neglects or refuses so to do, the party
injured, after giving sixty days notice in writing when a fence is to be
erected, or ten days when it is only repairs, may proceed to have the
work done at the expense of the party whose duty it is to do it, to be
recovered from him with costs of suit, and the party so neglecting shall
also be liable to the party injured for all damages accruing from such
neglect or refusal, to be determined by any two fence-viewers selected
as before provided, the appraisement to be reduced to writing and signed.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
lt)9
Where a person shall conclude to remove his part of a division fence,
and let his land lie open, and having given the year’s notice required, the
adjoining owner may cause the value of said fence to be ascertained bv
fence-viewers as before provided, and on payment or tender of the
amount of such valuation to the owner, it shall prevent the removal. . A
party removing a division fence without notice is liable for the damages
accruing thereby.
Where a fence has been built on the land of another through mis¬
take, the owner may enter upon such premises and remove his fence and
material within six months after the division line has been ascertained.
Where the material to build such a fence has been taken from the land
on which it was built, then before it can be removed, the person claiming
must first pay for such material to the owner of the land from which it
was taken, nor shall such a fence be removed at a time when the removal
will throw open or expose the crops of the other party ; a reasonable
time must be given beyond the .six months to remove crops.
The compensation of fence-viewers is one dollar and fifty cents a
day each, to be paid in the first instance by the party calling them, but
in the end all expenses, including amount charged by the fence-viewers,
must be paid equally by the parties, except in cases where a party neglects
or refuses to make or maintain a just proportion of a division fence, when
the party in default shall pay them.
DAMAGES FROM TRESPASS.
Where stock of any kind breaks into any person’s enclosure, the
fence being good and sufficient , the owner is liable for the damage done ;
but where the damage is done by stock running at large , contrary to law ,
the owner is liable where there is not such a fence. Where stock is
found trespassing on the enclosure of another as aforesaid, the owner oi
occupier of the premises may take possession of such stock and keep the
same until damages, with reasonable charges for keeping and feeding and
all costs of suit, are paid. Any person taking or rescuing such stock so
held without his consent, shall be liable to a fine of not less than three
nor more than five dollars for each animal rescued, to be recovered by
suit before a justice of the peace for the use of the school fund. Within
twenty-four hours after taking such animal into his possession, the per¬
son taking it up must give notice of the fact to the owner, if known, or
if unknown, notices must be posted in some public place near the premises.
LANDLORD AND TENANT.
The owner of lands, or his legal representatives, can sue for and
recover rent therefor, in any of the following cases :
First. When rent is due and in arrears on a lease for life or lives.
5
170
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
Second. When lands are held and occupied by any person without
any special agreement for rent.
Third. When possession is obtained under an agreement, written
or verbal, for the purchase of the premises and before deed given, the
right to possession is terminated by forfeiture on con-compliance with the
agreement, and possession is wrongfully refused or neglected to be given
upon demand made in writing by the party entitled thereto. Provided
that all payments made by the vendee or his representatives or assigns,
may be set off against the rent.
Fourth. When land has been sold upon a judgment or a decree of
court, when the party to such judgment or decree, or person holding under
him. wrongfully refuses, or neglects, to surrender possession of the same,
after demand in writing by the person entitled to the possession.
Fifth. When the lands have been sold upon a mortgage or trust
deed, and the mortgagor or grantor or person holding under him, wrong¬
fully refuses or neglects to surrender possession of the same, after demand
in writing by the person entitled to the possession.
If any tenant, or any person who shall come into possession from or
under or by collusion with such tenant, shall willfully hold over any lands,
etc., after the expiration the term of their lease, and after demand made
in writing for the possession thereof, is liable to pay double rent. A
tenancy from year to year requires sixty days notice in writing, to termi¬
nate the same at the end of the year; such notice can be given at any
time within four months preceding the last sixty days of the year.
A tenancy by the month, or less than a year, where the tenant holds
over without any special agreement, the landlord may terminate the
tenancy, by thirty days notice in writing.
When rent is due, the landlord may serve a notice upon the tenant,
stating that unless the rent is paid within not less than five days, his lease
will be terminated ; if the rent is not paid, the landlord may consider the
lease ended. When default is made in any of the terms of a lease, it
shall not be necessary to give more than ten days notice to quit or of the
termination of such tenancy ; and the same may be terminated on gfv ing
such notice to quit, at any time after such default in any of the terms of
such lease ; which notice may be substantially in the following form, viz:
To - . You are hereby notified that, in consequence of your default
in (here insert the character of the default), of the premises now occupied
by you, being etc. (here describe the premises), I have elected to detei-
mine your lease, and you are hereby notified to quit and deliver up pos¬
session of the same to me within ten days of this date (dated, etc.)
The above to be signed by the lessor or his agent, and no other notice
or demand of possession or termination of such tenancy is necessary.
Demand may be made, or notice served, by delivering a written or
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
171
printed, or partly either, copy thereof to the tenant, or leaving the same
with some person above the age of twelve years residing on or in posses¬
sion of the premises ; and in case no one is in the actual possession of the
said piemises, then by posting the same on the premises. When the
tenancy is for a certain time, and the term expires by the terms of the
lease, the tenant is then bound to surrender possession, and no notice
to quit or demand of possession is necessary.
Distress for rent.— In all cases of distress for rent, the landlord, by
himself, his agent or attorney, may seize for rent any personal property of
his tenant that may be found in the county where the tenant resides ; the
property of any other person, even if found on the premises, is not
liable.
An inventory of the property levied upon, with a statement of the
amount of rent claimed, should be at once filed with some justice of the
peace, if not over $200 ; and if above that sum, with the clerk of a court
of record of competent jurisdiction. Property may be released, by the
party executing a satisfactory bond for double the amount.
The landlord may distrain for rent, any time within six months after
the expiration of the term of the lease, or when terminated.
In all cases where the premises rented shall be sub-let, or the lease
assigned, the landlord shall have the same right to enforce lien against
such lessee or assignee, that he has against the tenant to whom the pre¬
mises were rented.
When a tenant abandons or removes from the premises or any part
thereof, the landlord, or his agent or attorney, may seize upon any grain
or other crops grown or growing upon the premises, or part thereof so
abandoned, whether the rent is due or not. If such grain, or other crops,
or any part thereof, is not fully grown or matured, the landlord, or his
agent or attorney, shall cause the same to be properly cultivated, harvested
or gathered, and may sell the same, and from the proceeds pay all his
labor, expenses and rent. The tenant may, before the sale of such pro¬
perty, redeem the same by tendering the rent and reasonable compensation
for work done, or he may replevy the same.
Exemption. — The same articles of personal property which are bylaw
exempt from execution, except the crops as above stated, is also exempt
from distress for rent.
If any tenant is about to or shall permit or attempt to sell and
remove from the premises, without the consent of his landlord, such
portion of the crops raised thereon as will endanger the lien of the land¬
lord upon such crops, for the rent, it shall be lawful for the landlord to
distress before rent is due.
172
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
LIENS.
Any person who shall by contract , express or implied, or partly both,
with the owner of any lot or tract of land, furnish labor or material, or
services as an architect or superintendent, in building, altering, lepaiiing
or ornamenting any house or other building or appurtenance thereto on
such lot, or upon any street or alley, and connected with such improve¬
ments, shall have a lien upon the whole of such lot or tract of land, and
upon such house or building and appurtenances, for the amount due to
him for such labor, material or services. If the contract is expressed , and
the time for the completion of the work is beyond three years from the com¬
mencement thereof ; or, it the time of payment is beyond one year from
the time stipulated for the completion of the work, then no lien exists.
If the contract is implied , then no lien exists, unless the work be done or
material is furnished within one year from the commencement of the work
or delivery of the materials. As between different creditors having liens,
no preference is given to the one whose contract was first made , but each
shares pro-rata. Incumbrances existing on the lot or tract of the land at
the time the contract is made, do not operate on the improvements, and
are only preferred to the extent of the value of the land at the time of
making the contract. The above lien can not be enforced unless suit is
commenced within six months after the last payment for labor or mateiials
shall have become due and payable. Sub-contractors, mechanics, woikmen
and other persons furnishing any material, or performing any labor for a
contractor as before specified, have a lien to the extent of the amount due
the contractor at the time the following notice is served upon the owner
of the land who imide the contract:
To - , You are hereby notified, that I have been employed by -
(here state whether to labor or furnish material, and substantially the
nature of the demand) upon your (here state in general terms description
and situation of building), and that I shall hold the (building, or as the
case may be), and your interest in the ground, liable for the amount that
may (is or may become) due me on account thereof. Signature,
Date, -
If there is a contract in writing between contractor and sub-contractor,
a copy of it should be served with above notice, and said notice must be
served within forty days from the completion of such sub-contract, if there
is one ; if not, then from the time payment should have been made to the
person performing the labor or furnishing the material. If the owner is
not a resident of the county, or can not be found therein, then the above
notice must be filed with the clerk of the Circuit Court, with his fee, fifty
cents, and a copy of said notice must be published in a newspaper pub¬
lished in the county, for four successive weeks.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
173
When the owner or agent is notified as above, he can retain any
money due the contractor sufficient to pay such claim ; if more than one
claim, and not enough to pay all, they are to be paid pro rata.
The owner has the right to demand in writing, a statement of the
contractor, of what he owes for labor, etc., from time to time as the work
progresses, and on his failure to comply, forfeits to the owner $50.for
every offense.
The liens referred to cover any and all estates, whether in fee for
lire, for years, or any other interest which the owner may have.
To enforce the lien of sub- contractors, suit must be commenced within
three months from the time of the performance of the sub-contract, or
during the work or furnishing materials.
Hotel, inn and boarding-house keepers, have a lien upon the baggage
and other valuables of their guests or boarders, brought into such hotel,
inn or boarding-house, by their guests or boarders, for the proper charges
due from such guests or boarders for their accommodation, board and
lodgings, and such extras as are furnished at their request.
Stable-keepers and other persons have a lien upon the horses, car¬
riages and harness kept by them, for the proper charges due for the keep¬
ing thereof and expenses bestowed thereon at the request of the owner
or the person having the possession of the same.
Agisters (persons who take care of cattle belonging to others), and
persons keeping, yarding, feeding or pasturing domestic animals, shall
have a lien upon the animals agistered, kept, yarded or fed, for the proper
charges due for such service.
All persons who may furnish any railroad corporation in this state
with fuel, ties, material, supplies or any other article or thing necessary
for the construction, maintenance, operation or repair of its road by con¬
tract, or may perform work or labor on the same, is entitled to be paid as
part of the current expenses of the road, and have a lien upon all its pro-
perty. Sub-contractors or laborers have also a lien. The conditions and
limitations both as to contractors and sub-contractors, are about the same
as herein stated as to general liens.
DEFINITION OF COMMERCIAL TERMS.
$ - means dollars, being a contraction of U. S., which was formerly
placed before any denomination of money, and meant, as it means now,
United States Currency.
£ - means pounds, English money.
@ stands for at or to. lb for pound, and bbl. for barrel ; ^ for per or
by the . Thus, Butter sells at 20 @ 30c ^ lb, and Flour at $8@12 ^ bbl.
% for per cent and # for number.
May 1. — Wheat sells at $1.20@1.25, “seller June." Seller June
174
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
means that the person who sells the wheat has the privilege of delivering
it at any time during the month of June.
Selling short, is contracting to deliver a certain amount of grain or
stock, at a fixed price, within a certain length of time, when the seller
has not the stock on hand. It is for the interest of the person selling
“short,” to depress the market as much as possible, in order that he may
buy and fill his contract at a profit. Hence the “ shorts ” are termed
“ bears.”
Buying long , is to contract to purchase a certain amount of grain or
shares of stock at a fixed price, deliverable within a stipulated time,
expecting to make a profit by the rise of prices. The “longs” are
termed “bulls,” as it is for their interest to “ operate ” so as to “toss”
the prices upward as much as possible.
NOTES.
Form of note is legal, worded in the simplest way, so that the
amount and time of payment are mentioned.
$100. Chicago, Ill., Sept. 15, 1876.
Sixty days from date I promise to pay to E. F. Brown,
or order, One Hundred dollars, for value received.
L. D. Lowry.
A note to be payable in any thing else than money needs only the
facts substituted for money in the above form.
ORDERS.
Orders should be worded simply, thus :
Mr. F. H. Coats : Chicago, Sept. 15, 1876.
Please pay to H. Birdsall, Twenty-five dollars, and charge to
F. D. Silva.
RECEIPTS.
Receipts should always state when received and what for, thus :
$100. Chicago, Sept. 15, 1876. -
Received of J. W. Davis, One Hundred dollars, for services
rendered in grading his lot in Fort Madison, on account.
Thomas Brady.
If receipt is in full it should be so stated.
BILLS OF PURCHASE.
W. N. Mason, Salem, Illinois, Sept. 15, 1876.
Bought of A. A. Graham.
4 Bushels of Seed Wheat, at $1.50 - - - + $6.00
2 Seamless Sacks “ .80 - - .60
Received payment, $6.60
A. A. Graham.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
176
ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT.
An agreement is where one party promises to another to do a certain
thing in a certain time for a stipulated sum. Good business men always
reduce an agreement to writing, which nearly always saves misunder¬
standings and trouble. No particular form is necessary, but the facts must
be clearly and explicitly stated, and there must, to make it valid, be a
reasonable consideration.
GENERAL FORM OF AGREEMENT.
This Agreement, made the Second day of October, 1876, between
John Jones, of Aurora, County of Kane, State of Illinois, of the first part,
and Thomas Whiteside, of the same place, of the second part —
WITNESSETH, that the said John Jones, in consideration of the agree¬
ment of the party of the second part, hereinafter contained, contracts and
agrees to and with the said Thomas Whiteside, that he will deliver, in
good and marketable condition, at the Village of Batavia, Ill., during the
month of November, of this year, One Hundred Tons of Prairie Hay, in
the following lots, and at the following specified times ; namely, twenty-’
five tons by the seventh of November, twenty-five tons additional by the
fourteenth of the month, twenty-five tons more by the twenty -first, and
the entire one hundred tons to be all delivered by the thirtieth of
November.
And the said Thomas Whiteside, in consideration of the prompt
fulfillment of this contract, on the part of the party of the first part,
contracts to and agrees with the said John Jones, to pay for said hay five
dollars per ton, for each ton as soon as delivered.
In case of failure of agreement by either of the parties hereto, it is
hereby stipulated and agreed that the party so failing shall pa}^ to the
other, One Hundred Dollars, as fixed and settled damages.
In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands the day and
year first above written. John Jones,
Thomas Whiteside.
AGREEMENT WITH CLERK FOR SERVICES.
This Agreement, made the first day of May, one thousand eight
hundred and seventy-six, between Reuben Stone, of Chicago, County
of Cook, State of Illinois, party of the first part, and George Barclay, of
Englewood, County of Cook, State of Illinois, party of the second part —
Witnesseth, that said George Barclay agrees faithfully and dili¬
gently to work as clerk and salesman for the said Reuben Stone, for
and during the space of one year from the date hereof, should both
live such length of time, without absenting himself from his occupation;
176
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
during which time he, the said Barclay, in the store of said Stone, of
Chicago, will carefully and honestly attend, doing and performing all
duties as clerk and salesman aforesaid, in accordance and in all respects
as directed and desired by the said Stone.
In consideration of which services, so to be rendered by the said
Barclay, the said Stone agrees to pay to said Barclay the annual sum of
one thousand dollars, payable in twelve equal monthly payments, each
upon the last day of each month ; provided that all dues for days of
absence from business by said Barclay, shall be deducted from the sum
otherwise by the agreement due and payable by the said Stone to the said
Barclay.
Witness our hands. Reuben Stone.
George Barclay.
BILLS OF SALE.
A bill of sale is a written agreement to another party, for a consider¬
ation to convey his right and interest in the personal property. The
purchaser must take actual possession of the property. Juries have
power to determine upon the fairness or unfairness of a bill of sale.
COMMON FORM OF BILL OF SALE.
Know all Men by this instrument, that I, Louis Clay, of Princeton,
Illinois, of the first part, for and in consideration of Five Hundred
and Ten dollars, to me paid by John Floyd, of the same place, of the
second part, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have sold, and
by this instrument do. convey unto the said Floyd, party of the second
part, his executors, administrators, and assigns, my undivided half of
ten acres of corn, now growing on the farm of Thomas Tyrrell, in the
town above mentioned ; one pair of horses, sixteen sheep, and five cows,
belonging to me, and in my possession at the farm aforesaid ; to have and
to hold the same unto the party of the second part, his executors and
assigns, forever. And I do, for myself and legal representatives, agree
with the said party of the second part, and his legal representatives, to
warrant and defend the sale of the afore-mentioned property and chattels
unto the said party of the second part, and his legal representatives,
against all and every person whatsoever.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my hand, this tenth day
of October, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
Louis Clay.
BONDS.
A bond is a written admission on the part of the maker in which he
pledges a certain sum to another, at a certain time.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
177
COMMON FORM OF BOND.
Know all Men by this instrument, that I, George Edgerton, of
Watseka, Iroquois County, State of Illinois, am firmly bound unto Peter
Kirchoff, of the place aforesaid, in the sum of five hundred dollars, to be
paid to the said Peter Kirchoff, or his legal representatives ; to which
payment, to be made, I bind myself, or my legal representatives, by this
instrument.
Sealed with my seal, and dated this second day of November, one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
The condition of this bond is such that if I, George Edgerton, my
heirs, administrators, or executors, shall promptly pay the sum of two
hundred and fifty dollars in three equal annual payments from the date
hereof, with annual interest, then the above obligation to be of no effect ;
otherwise to be in full force and valid.
Sealed and delivered in
presence of George Edgerton. [l.s.]
William Turner.
CHATTEL MORTGAGES.
A chattel mortgage is a mortgage on personal property for payment
of a certain sum of money, to hold the property against debts of other
creditors. The mortgage must describe the property, and must be
acknowledged before a justice of the peace in the township or precinct
where the mortgagee resides, and entered upon his docket, and must be
recorded in the recorder’s office of the county.
GENERAL FORM OF CHATTEL MORTGAGE.
This Indenture, made and entered into this first day of January,
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five,
between Theodore Lottinville, of the town of Geneseo in the County
of Henry, and State of Illinois, party of the first part, and Paul Henshaw,
of the same town, county, and State, part}r of the second part.
Witnesseth, that the said party of the first part, for and in consider¬
ation of the sum of one thousand dollars, in hand paid, the receipt whereof
is hereby acknowledged, does hereby grant, sell, convey, and confirm unto
the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns forever, all and
singular the following described goods and chattels, to wit:
Two three-year old roan-colored horses, one Burdett organ, No. 987,
one Brussels carpet, 15x20 feet in size, one marble-top center table, one
Home Comfort cooking stove, No. 8, one black walnut bureau with mirror
attached, one set of parlor chairs (six in number), upholstered in green
rep, with lounge corresponding with same in style and color of upholstery,
nowin possession of said Lottinville, at No. 4 Prairie Ave., Geneseo, Ill.;
178
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
Together with all and singular, the appurtenances thereunto belong¬
ing, or in any wise appertaining ; to have and to hold the above described
goods and chattels, unto the said party of the second part, his heirs and
assigns, forever.
Provided, always, and these presents are upon this express condition,
that if the said Theodore Lottinville, his heirs, executors, administrators,
or assigns, shall, on or before the first day of January, A.D., one thousand
eight hundred and seventy-six, pay, or cause to be paid, to the said Paul
Ranslow, or his lawful attorney or attorneys, heirs, executors, adminis¬
trators, or assigns, the sum of One Thousand dollars, together with the
interest that may accrue thereon, at the rate of ten per cent, per annum,
from the first day of January, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and
seventy-five, until paid, according to the tenor of one promissory note
bearing even date herewith for the payment of said sum of money, that
then and from thenceforth, these presents, and everything herein con¬
tained, shall cease, and be null and void, anything herein contained to the
contrary notwithstanding.
Provided, also, that the said Theodore Lottinville may retain the
possession of and have the use of said goods and chattels until the day
of payment aforesaid ; and also, at his own expense, shall keep said goods
and chattels; and also at the expiration of said time of payment, if said
sum of money, together with the interest as aforesaid, shall not be paid,
shall deliver up said goods and chattels, in good condition, to said Paul
Ranslow, or his heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns.
And provided, also, that if default in payment as aforesaid, by said
party of the first part, shall be made, or if said party of the second part
shall at any time before said promissory note becomes due, feel himself
unsafe or insecure, that then the said party of the second part, or his
attorney, agent, assigns, or heirs, executors, or administrators, shall have
the right to take possession of said goods and chattels, wherever they
may or can be found, and sell the same at public or private sale, to the
highest bidder for cash in hand, after giving ten days’ notice of the time
and place of said sale, together with a description of the goods and chat¬
tels to be sold, by at least four advertisements, posted up in public places
in the vicinity where said sale is to take place, and proceed to make the
sum of money and interest promised as aforesaid, together with all reason¬
able costs, charges, and expenses in so doing ; and if there shall be any
overplus, shall pay the same without delay to the said party of the first
part, or his legal representatives.
In testimony whereof, the said party of the first part has hereunto
set his hand and affixed his seal, the day and year first above written.
Signed, sealed and delivered in
presence of Theodore Lottinville. [l.s.]
Samuel J. Tilden.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
1T9
LEASE OF FARM AND BUILDINGS THEREON.
This Indenture, made this second day of June, 1875, between David
Patton of the Town of Bisbee, State of Illinois, of the first part, and John
Doyle of the same place, of the second part,
Witnesseth, that the said David Patton, for and in consideration of
the covenants hereinafter mentioned and reserved, on the part of the said
John Doyle, his executors, administrators, and assigns, to be paid, kept,
and performed, hath let, and by these presents doth grant, demise, and
let, unto the said John Doyle, his executors, administrators, and assigns,
all that parcel of land situate in Bisbee aforesaid, bounded and described
as follows, to wit :
[Here describe the land.~\
Together with all the appurtenances appertaining thereto. To have
and to hold the said premises, with appurtenances thereto belonging, unto
the said Doyle, his executors, administrators, and assigns, for the term of
five years, from the first day of October next following, at a yearly rent
of Six Hundred dollars, to be paid in equal payments, semi-annually, as
long as said buildings are in good tenantable condition.
And the said Doyle, by these presents, covenants and agrees to pay
all taxes and assessments, and keep in repair all hedges, ditches, rail, and
other fences ; (the said David Patton, his heirs, assigns and administra¬
tors, to furnish all timber, brick, tile, and other materials necessary for
such repairs.)
Said Doyle further covenants and agrees to apply to said land, in a
farmer-like manner, all manure and compost accumulating upon said
farm, and cultivate all the arable land in a husbandlike manner, accord¬
ing to the usual custom among farmers in the neighborhood ; he also
agrees to trim the hedges at a seasonable time, preventing injury from
cattle to such hedges, and to all fruit and other trees on the said premises.
That he will seed down with clover and timothy seed twenty acres yearly
of arable land, ploughing the same number of acres each Spring of land
now in grass, and hitherto unbroken.
It is further agreed, that if the said Doyle shall fail to perform the
whole or any one of the above mentioned covenants, then and in that
case the said David Patton may declare this lease terminated, by giving
three months’ notice of the same, prior to the first of October of any
year, and may distrain any part of the stock, goods, or chattels, or other
property in possession of said Doyle, for sufficient to compensate for the
non-performance of the above written covenants, the same to be deter¬
mined, and amounts so to be paid to be determined, by three arbitrators,
chosen as follows : Each of the parties to this instrument to choose one,
180
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
and the two so chosen to select a third ; the decision of said arbitrators
to be final.
In witness whereof, we have hereto set our hands and seals.
Signed, sealed, and delivered
in presence of David Patton, [l.s.]
James Waldron. John Doyle. [l.s.]
FORM OF LEASE OF A HOUSE.
This Instrument, made the first day of October, 1875, witnesseth
that Amos Griest of Yorkville, County of Kendall, State of Illinois, hath
rented from Aaron Young of Logansport aforesaid, the dwelling and lot
No. 13 Ohio Street, situated in said City of Yorkville, for five years
from the above date, at the yearly rental of Three Hundred dollars, pay¬
able monthly, on the first day of each month, in advance, at the residence
of said Aaron Young.
At the expiration of said above mentioned term, the said Griest
agrees to give the said Young peaceable possession of the said dwelling,
in as good condition as when taken, ordinary wear and casualties excepted.
In witness whereof, we place our hands and seals the day and year
aforesaid.
Signed, sealed and delivered Amos Griest. [l.s.]
in presence of
Nicholas Schutz, Aaron Young, [l.s.]
Notary Public.
LANDLORD’S AGREEMENT.
This certifies that I have let and rented, this first day of January,
1876, unto Jacob Schmidt, my house and lot, No. 15 Erie Street, in the
City of Chicago, State of Illinois, and its appurtenances ; he to have the
free and uninterrupted occupation thereof for one year from this date, at
the yearly rental of Two Hundred dollars, to be paid monthly in advance ;
rent to cease if destroyed by fire, or otherwise made untenantable.
Peter Funk.
TENANT’S AGREEMENT.
This certifies that I have hired and taken from Peter Funk, his
house and lot, No. 15 Erie Street, in the City of Chicago, State of Illi¬
nois, with appurtenances thereto belonging, for one year, to commence
this day, at a yearly rental of Two Hundred dollars, to be paid monthly
in advance ; unless said house becomes untenantable from fire or other
causes, in which case rent ceases ; and I further agree to give and yield
said premises one year from this first day of January 1876, in as good
condition as now, ordinary wear and damage by the elements excepted.
Given under my hand this day. Jacob Schmidt.
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
181
NOTICE TO QUIT.
To F. W. Arlen,
Sir : Please observe that the term of one year, for which the house
and land, situated at No. 6 Indiana Street, and now occupied bv you,
were rented to you, expired on the first day of October, 1875, and as I
desire to repossess said premises, you are hereby requested and required
to vacate the same. Respectfully Yours,
P. T. Barnum.
Lincoln,. Neb., October 4, 1875.
TENANT’S NOTICE OF LEAVING.
Dear Sir :
The premises I now occupy as your tenant, at No. 6 Indiana Street,
I shall vacate on the first day of November, 1875. You will please take
notice accordingly.
Dated this tenth day of October, 1875. F. W. Arlen.
To P, T. Barnum, Esq.
REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE TO SECURE PAYMENT OF MONEY.
This Indenture, made this sixteenth day of May, in the year of
our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, between William
Stocker, of Peoria, County of Peoria, and State of Illinois, and Olla, his
wife, party of the first part, and Edward Singer, party of the second part.
Whereas, the said party of the first part is justly indebted to the said
party of the second part, in the sum of Two Thousand dollars, secured
to be paid {)y two certain promissory notes (bearing even date herewith)
the one due and payable at the Second National Bank in Peoria, Illinois,
with interest, on the sixteenth day of May, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and seventy-three ; the other due and payable at the Second
National Bank at Peoria, Ill., with interest, on the sixteenth day of May,
in the year one thousand eight hundred and sevent}r-four.
Now, therefore, this indenture witnesseth, that the said party of the
first part, for the better securing the payment of the money aforesaid,
with interest thereon, according to the tenor and effect of the said two
promissory notes above mentioned ; and, also in consideration of the fur¬
ther sum of one dollar to them in hand paid by the said party of the sec¬
ond part, at the delivery of these presents, the receipt whereof is hereby
acknowledged, have granted, bargained, sold, and conveyed, and by these
presents do grant, bargain, sell, and convey, unto the said party of the
second part, his heirs and assigns, forever, all that certain parcel of land,
situate, etc.
[. Describing the premises .]
To ha^ve and to hold the same, together with all and singular the
Tenements, Hereditaments, Privileges and Appurtenances thereunto
182
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
belonging or in any wise appertaining. And also, all the estate, interest,
and claim whatsoever, in law as well as in equity which the party of
the first part have in and to the premises hereby conveyed unto the said
party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, and to their only proper
use, benefit and behoof. And the said William Stocker, and Olla, his
wife, party of the first part, hereby expressly waive, relinquish, release,
and convey unto the said party of the second part, his heirs, executors,
administrators, and assigns, all right, title, claim, interest, and benefit
whatever, in and to the above described premises, and each and every
part thereof, which is given by or results from all laws of this state per-
taining to the exemption of homesteads.
Provided always, and these presents are upon this express condition,
that if the said party of the first part, their heirs, executors, or adminis¬
trators, shall well and truly pay, or cause to be paid, to the said party of
the second part, his heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, the afore¬
said sums of money, with such interest thereon, at the time and in the
manner specified in the above mentioned promissory notes, according to
the true intent and meaning thereof, then in that case, these presents and
every thing herein expressed, shall be absolutely null and void.
In witness whereof, the said party of the first part hereunto set their
hands and seals the day and year first above written.
Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of
James Whitehead, William Stocker, [l.s.]
Fred. Samuels. Olla Stocker. [l.s.]
WARRANTY DEED WITH COVENANTS.
This Indenture, made this sixth day of April, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, between Henry Best
of Lawrence, County of Lawrence, State of Illinois, and Belle, his wife,
of the first part, and Charles Pearson of the same place, of the second part,
Witnesseth, that the said party of the first part, for and in consideration
of the sum of Six Thousand dollars in hand paid by the said party of the
second part, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have granted,
bargained, and sold, and by these presents do grant, bargain, and sell,
unto the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns, ail the fol¬
lowing described lot, piece, or parcel of land, situated in the City of Law¬
rence, in the County of Lawrence, and State of Illinois, to wit:
[Here describe the property .]
Together with all and singular the hereditaments and appurtenances
thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining, and the reversion and
reversions, remainder and remainders, rents, issues, and profits thereof:
and all the estate, ngnt, title, interest, claim, and demand whatsoever, of
the said party of the nrst part, either in law or equity, of, in, and to the
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
185
above bargained premises, with the hereditaments and appurtenances.
To have and to hold the said premises above bargained and described,
with the appurtenances, unto the said party of the second part, his heirs
and assigns, forever. And the said Henry Best, and Belle, his wife, par¬
ties of the first part, hereby expressly waive, release, and relinquish unto
the said party of the second part, his heirs, executors, administrators, and
assigns, all right, title, claim, interest, and benefit whatever, in and to the
above described premises, and each and every part thereof, which is given
by or results from all laws of this state pertaining to the exemption of
homesteads.
And the said Henry Best, and Belle, his wife, party of the first
part, for themselves and their heirs, executors, and administrators, do
covenant, grant, bargain, and agree, to and with the said party of the
second part, his heirs and assigns, that at the time of the ensealing and
delivery of these presents they were well seized of the premises above
conveyed, as of a good, sure, perfect, absolute, and indefeasible estate of
inheritance in law, and in fee simple, and have good right, full power,
and lawful authority to grant, bargain, sell, and convey the same, in
manner and form aforesaid, and that the same are free and clear from all
former and other grants, bargains, sales, liens, taxes, assessments, and
encumbrances of what kind or nature soever ; and the above bargained
premises in the quiet and peaceable possession of the said party of the
second part, his heirs and assigns, against all and every person or persons
lawfully claiming or to claim the whole or any part thereof, the said party
of the first part shall and will warrant and forever defend.
In testimony whereof, the said parties of the first part have hereunto
set their hands and seals the day and year first above written.
Signed, sealed and delivered
in presence of Henry Best, [l.s.]
Jerry Linklater. Belle Best. [l.s.]
QUIT-CLAIM DEED.
This Indenture, made the eighth day of June, in the year of our
Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, between David Tour,
of Plano, County of Kendall, State of Illinois, party of the first part,
and Larry O’Brien, of the same place, party of the second part,
Witnesseth, that the said party of the first part, for and in considera¬
tion of Nine Hundred dollars in hand paid by the said party of the sec¬
ond part, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, and the said party
of the second part forever released and discharged therefrom, has remised,
released, sold, conveyed, and quit-claimed, and by these presents does
remise, release, sell, convey, and quit-claim, unto the said party of the
second part, his heirs and assigns, forever, all the right, title, interest,
186
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
claim, and demand, which the said party of the first part has in and to
the following described lot, piece, or parcel of land, to wit :
[Here describe the land.\
To have and to hold the same, together with all and singular the
appurtenances and privileges thereunto belonging, or in any wise there¬
unto appertaining, and all the estate, right, title, interest, and claim
whatever, of the said party of the first part, either in law or equity, to
the only proper use, benefit, and behoof of the said party of the second
part, his heirs and assigns forever.
In witness whereof the said party of the first part hereunto set his
hand and seal the day and year above written.
Signed, sealed and delivered David Tour, [l.s.]
in presence of
Thomas Ashley.
The above forms of Deeds and Mortgage are such as have heretofore
been generally used, but the following are much shorter, and are made
equally valid by the laws of this state.
WARRANTY DEED.
The grantor (here insert name or names and place of residence), for
and in consideration of (here insert consideration) in hand paid, conveys
and warrants to (here insert the grantee’s name or names) the following
described real estate (here insert description), situated in the County of
- in the State of Illinois.
Dated this - day of - A. D. 18 - .
QUIT CLAIM DEED.
The grantor (here insert grantor’s name or names and place of resi¬
dence). for the consideration of (here insert consideration) convey and
quit-claim to (here insert grantee’s name or names) all interest in the
following described real estate (here insert description), situated in the
County of - in the State of Illinois.
Dated this - day of - A. D. 18 - .
MORTGAGE.
The mortgagor (here insert name or names) mortgages and warrants
to (here insert name or names of mortgagee or mortgagees), to secure the
payment of (here recite the nature and amount of indebtedness, showing
when due and the rate of interest, and whether secured by note or other¬
wise), the following described real estate (here insert description thereof),
situated in the County of - in the State of Illinois.
Dated this - day of - A. D. 18 - .
RELEASE.
Know all Men by these presents, that I, Peter Ahlund, of Chicago,
of the County of Cook, and State of Illinois, for and in consideration of
One dollar, to me in hand paid, and for other good and valuable considera-
187
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
tions, the receipt whereof is hereby confessed, do hereby grant, bargain,
remise, convey, release, and quit-claim unto Joseph Carlin of Chicago,
of the County of Cook, and State of Illinois, all the right, title, interest,
claim, or demand whatsoever, I may have acquired in, through, or by a
certain Indenture or Mortgage Deed, bearing date the second day of Jan¬
uary, A. D. 1871, and recorded in the Recorder’s office of said county,
in book A of Deeds, page 46, to the premises therein described, and which
said Deed was made to secure one certain promissory note, bearing even
date with said deed, for the sum of Three Hundred dollars.
Witness my hand and seal, this second day of November, A. D. 1874.
Peter Ahlund. f l.s.1
State of Illinois, j
Cook County. j * I, George Saxton, a Notary Public in
and for said county, in the state aforesaid, do hereby
certify that Peter Ahlund, personally known to me
as the same person whose name is subscribed to the
foregoing Release, appeared before me this day in
[ nosealial ] person, and acknowledged that he signed, sealed, and
delivered the said instrument of writing as his free
and voluntary act, for the uses and purposes therein
set forth.
Given under my hand and seal, this second day of
November, A. D. 1874.
George Saxton, N. P.
GENERAL FORM OF WILL FOR REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY.
I, Charles Mansfield, of the Town of Salem, County of Jackson,
State of Illinois, being aware of the uncertainty of life, and in failing
health, but of sound mind and memory, do make and declare this to be
my last will and testament, in manner following, to wit :
First. I give, devise and bequeath unto my oldest son, Sidney H.
Mansfield, the sum of Two Thousand Dollars, of bank stock, now in the
Third National Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio, and the farm owned by myself
in the Town of Buskirk, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, with
all the houses, tenements, and improvements thereunto belonging ; to
have and to hold unto my said son, his heirs and assigns, forever.
Second. I give, devise and bequeath to each of my daughters, Anna
Louise Mansfield and Ida Clara Mansfield, each Two Thousand dollars in
bank stock, in the Third National Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio, and also each
one quarter section of land, owned by myself, situated in the Town of
Lake, Illinois, and recorded in my name in the Recorder's office in the
county where such land is located. The north one hundred and sixty
acres of said half section is devised to my eldest daughter, Anna Louise.
6
188
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
Third. I give, devise and bequeath to my son, Frank Alfred Mans¬
field, Five shares of Railroad stock in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
and my one hundred and sixty acres of land and saw mill thereon, situ¬
ated in Manistee, Michigan, with all the improvements and appurtenances
thereunto belonging, which said real estate is recorded in my name in the
county where situated.
Fourth. I give to my wife, Victoria Elizabeth Mansfield, all my
household furniture, goods, chattels, and personal property, about my
home, not hitherto disposed of, including Eight Thousand dollars of bank
stock in the Third National Bank of Cincinnati, Ohio, Fifteen shares in
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the free and unrestricted use, pos¬
session, and benefit of the home farm, so long as she may live, in lieu of
dower, to which she is entitled by law ; said farm being my present place
of residence.
Fifth. I bequeath to my invalid father, Elijah H. Mansfield, the
income from rents of my store building at 145 Jackson Street, Chicago,
Illinois, during the term of his natural life. Said building and land there¬
with to revert to my said sons and daughters in equal proportion, upon
the demise of my said father.
Sixth. It is also my will and desire that, at the death of my wife,
Victoria Elizabeth Mansfield, or at any time when she may arrange to
relinquish her life interest in the above mentioned homestead, the same
may revert to my above- named children, or to the lawful heirs of each.
And lastly. I nominate and appoint as executors of this my last will
and testament, my wife, Victoria Elizabeth Mansfield, and my eldest son,
Sidney H. Mansfield.
I further direct that my debts and necessary funeral expenses shad
be paid from moneys now on deposit in the Savings Bank of Salem, the
residue of such moneys to revert to my wife, Victoria Elizabeth Mansfield,
for her use forever.
In witness whereof, I, Charles Mansfield, to this my last will and
testament, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this fourth day of April,
eighteen hundred and seventy-two.
\
Signed, sealed, and declared by Charles
Mansfield, as and for his last will and
testament, in the presence of us, who,
at his request, and in his presence, and
in the presence of each other, have sub-
scribed our names hereunto as witnesses
thereof.
Peter A. Schenck, Sycamore, Ills.
Frank E. Dent, Salem, Ills.
Charles Mansfield, [l.s.]
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
181*
CODICIL
Whereas I, Charles Mansfield, did, on the fourth day of April, one
thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, make my last will and testa¬
ment, I do now, by this writing, add this codicil to my said will, to -be
taken as a part thereof.
Whereas, by the dispensation of Providence, my daughter, Anna
Louise, has deceased November fifth, eighteen hundred and seventy-three,
and whereas, a son has been born to me, which son is now christened
Richard Albert Mansfield, I give and bequeath unto him my gold watch,
and all right, interest, and title in lands and bank stock and chattels
bequeathed to my deceased daughter, Anna Louise, in the body of this will.
In witness whereof, I hereunto place my hand and seal, this tenth
day of March, eighteen hundred and seventy-five.
Signed, sealed, published, and declared to^
us by the testator, Charles Mansfield, as
and for a codicil to be annexed to his
last will and testament. And we, at
his request, and in his presence, and in
the presence of each other, have sub¬
scribed our names as witnesses thereto,
at the date hereof.
Frank E. Dent, Salem, Ills.
John C. Shay, Salem, Ills.
Charles Mansfield.
[l.s.]
CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS
May be legally made by electing or appointing , according to the usages
or customs of the body of which it is a part, at any meeting held for that
purpose, two or more of its members as trustees, wardens or vestrymen, and
may adopt a corporate name. The chairman or secretary of such meeting
shall, as soon as possible, make and file in the office of the recorder of
deeds of the county, an affidavit substantially in the following form :
State of Illinois, )
- County. | SS*
I, - , do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be),
that at a meeting of the members of the (here insert the name of the
church, society or congregation as known before organization), held at
(here insert place of meeting), in the County of - , and State of
Illinois, on the - day of - , A.D. 18 — , for that purpose, the fol¬
lowing persons were elected (or appointed) [ here insert their names]
trustees, wardens, vestrymen, (or officers by whatever name they may
choose to adopt, with powers similar to trustees) according to the rules
and usages of such (church, society or congregation), and said -
190
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
adopted as its corporate name (here insert name), and at said meeting
this affiant acted as (chairman or secretary, as the case may be).
Subscribed and sworn to before me, this - day of - , A.D.
18 — Name of Affiant - -
which affidavit must be recorded by the recorder, and shall be, or a certi¬
fied copy made by the recorder, received as evidence of such an incorpo¬
ration.
No certificate of election after the first need be filed for record.
The term of office of the trustees and the general government of the
society can be determined by the rules or by-laws adopted. Failure to
elect trustees at the time provided does not work a dissolution, but the
old trustees hold over. A trustee or trustees may be removed, in the
same manner by the society as elections are held by a meeting called for
that purpose. The property of the society vests in the corporation. The
corporation may hold, or acquire by purchase or otherwise, land not
exceeding ten acres, for the purpose of the society. The trustees have
the care, custody and control of the property of the corporation, and can,
ivhen directed by the society, erect houses or improvements, and repair
and alter the same, and may also when so directed by the society,
mortgage, encumber, sell and convey any real or personal estate belonging
to the corporation, and make all proper contracts in the name of such
corporation. But they are prohibited by law from encumbering or inter¬
fering with any property so as to destroy the effect of any gift, grant,
devise or bequest to the corporation ; but such gifts, grants, devises oi
bequests, must in all cases be used so as to carry out the object intended
by the persons making the same. Existing societies may organize in the
manner herein set forth, and have all the advantages thereof.
SUGGESTIONS TO THOSE PURCHASING BOOKS BY SUBSCRIPTION.
The business of publishing books by subscription having so often been
brought into disrepute by agents making representations and declarations
not authorized by the publisher ; in order to prevent that as much as possi¬
ble, and that there may be more general knowledge of the relation such
agents bear to their principal, and the law governing such cases, the fol¬
lowing statement is made :
A subscription is in the nature of a contract of mutual promises, by
which the subscriber agrees to pay a certain sum for the work described ;
the consideration is concurrent that the publisher shall publish the book
named , and deliver the same, for which the subscriber is to pay the price
named. The nature and character of the work is described in the prospectus
and by the sample shown. These should be carefully examined before sub¬
scribing , as they are the basis and consideration of the promise to pay,
ABSTRACT OF ILLINOIS STATE LAWS.
191
and not the too often exaggerated statements of the agent , who is merely
employed to solicit subscriptions , for which he is usually paid a commission
for each subscriber, and has no authority to change or alter the conditions
upon which the subscriptions are authorized to be made by the publisher.
Should the agent assume to agree to make the subscription conditional or
modify or change the agreement of the publisher , as set out by prospectus
and sample, in order to bind the principal , the subscriber should see that
such conditions or changes are stated over or in connection with his signa¬
ture , so that the publisher may have notice of the same.
All persons making contracts in reference to matters of this kind, or
any other business, should remember that the law as to written contracts is,
that they can not be varied, altered or rescinded verbally, but if done at all,
must be done in writing. It is therefore important that all persons contem¬
plating subscribing should distinctly understand that all talk before or after
the subscription is made, is not admissible as evidence, and is no part of the
contract.
Persons employed to solicit subscriptions are known to. the trade as
canvassers. They are agents appointed to do a particular business in a
prescribed mode, and have no authority to do it in any other way to the
prejudice of their principal, nor can they bind their principal in any other
matter. They cannot collect money, or agree that payment may be made
in anything else but money. They can not extend the time of payment
beyond the time of delivery, nor bind their principal for the payment of
expenses incurred in their buisness.
It would save a great deal of trouble, and often serious loss, if persons,
before signing their names to any subscription book, or any written instru¬
ment, would examine carefully what it is ; if they can not read themselves,
should call on some one disinterested who can.
6
192
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
We, the people of the United States , in order to form a more perfect union ,
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common
defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty
to ourselves and our posterity , do ordain and establish this Constitution
for the United States of America.
Article I.
Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in
a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and
House of Representatives.
Sec. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of mem¬
bers chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the
electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of
the most numerous branch of the State Legislature.
No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the
age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in
which he shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the sev¬
eral states which may be included within this Union, according to their
respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole
number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of
years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons.
The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first
meeting of the Congress of the Lhiited States, and within every subse¬
quent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The
number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand,
but each state shall have at least one Representative ; and until such
enumeration shall be made the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled
to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plan¬
tations one, Connecticut five, New York six. New Jersey four. Pennsylva¬
nia eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five,
and Georgia three.
When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the
Executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such
vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other
officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.
Sec. 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two
Senators from each state, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six years ;
and each Senator shall have one vote.
Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first
election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes.
The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expira-
AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
193
tion of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth
year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that
one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by
resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of any state,
the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next
meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.
No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the ao-e
of thirty years and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and
who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he
shall be chosen.
The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the
Senate, but shall have no vote unless they be equally divided.
The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro
tempore , in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise
the office of President of the United States.
The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When
sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the
President of the United States is tried the Chief Justice shall preside.
And no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds
of the members present.
Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to
removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of
honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but the party convicted
shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment,
and punishment according to law.
Sec. 4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for Sen¬
ators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the Legis¬
lature thereof ; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter
such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by
law appoint a different day.
Sec. 5. Each house shall be the judge of the election, returns, and
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute
a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to
day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members
in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide.
Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its
members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds,
expel a member.
Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to
time publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in their judgment,
require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house
on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered
on the journal.
Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to an}r other
place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting.
Sec. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compen¬
sation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the
treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason,
194
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their
attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and
returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in either house
they shall not be questioned in any other place.
No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United
States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall
have been increased during such time ; and no person holding any office
under the United States, shall be a member of either house during his
continuance in office.
Sec. 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments
as on other bills.
Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and
the Senate, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President
of the United States ; if he approve he shall sign it ; but if not he shall
return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have origi¬
nated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and
proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration two-thirds of that
house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objec¬
tions, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if
approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all
such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by y eas and nays,
and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered
on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned
by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted), after it shall have
been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he
had signed it, unless the Congress, by their adjournment, prevent its
return, in which case it shall not be a law.
Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a
question of adjournment), shall be presented to the President of the
United States, and before the same shall take effect shall be approved by
him, or, being disapproved by him, shall be re-passed by two-thirds of
the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and lim¬
itations prescribed in the case of a bill.
Sec. 8. The Congress shall have power —
To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts,
and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United
States ; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout
the United States ;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States ;
To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several
States, and with the Indian tribes ;
To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on
the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States ;
To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and
fix the standard of weights and measures ;
To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and
current coin of the United States;
To establish post offices and post roads ;
AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
195
To promote the progress of sciences and useful arts, by securing,
for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to thetr
respective writings and discoveries ;
To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ;
To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high
seas, and offenses against the law of nations ;
To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules
concerning captures on land and water ;
To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that
use shall be for a longer term than two years ;
To provide and maintain a navy ;
To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and
naval forces ;
To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the
Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions ;
To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia, and
for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the
United States, reserving to the states respectively the appointment of the
officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the disci¬
pline prescribed by Congress ;
To exercise legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district (not
exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the
acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United
States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the
consent of the Legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for
the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock yards, and other needful
buildings ; and
To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this
Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any depart¬
ment or officer thereof.
Sec. 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the
states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited
by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight,
but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten
dollars for each person.
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended,
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may
require it.
No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed.
No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion
to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken.
No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state.
No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or rev¬
enue to the ports of one state over those of another; nor shall vessels
bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in
another.
No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of
appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account of
the receipts and expeditures of all public money shall be published from
time to time.
196
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States : and no
person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the
consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title
of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.
Sec. 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confeder¬
ation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of
credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of
debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the
obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility.
No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts
or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary
for executing its inspection laws, and the net produce of all duties and
imposts laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the
Treasury of the United States ; and all such laws shall be subject to the
revision and control of the Congress.
No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty on
tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any
agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or
engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will
not admit of delay.
Article II.
Section 1. The Executive power shall be vested in a President of
the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term
of four years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same
term, be elected as follows :
Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof
may direct, a number of Electors, equal to the whole number of Senators
and Representatives to which the state may be entitled in the Congress ;
but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or
profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
[ * The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by
ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of
the same state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the
persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list they
shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of the government
of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The Pres¬
ident of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Rep¬
resentatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted.
The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President,
if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed ;
and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal
number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately
choose by ballot one of them for President ; and if no person have a ma¬
jority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like
manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the vote
shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one
vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members
from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be
necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President,
* This clause between, brackets has been superseded and annulled by the Twelfth.amendment.
AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
197
the person having the greatest number of votes of the Electors shall be
the Vice-President. But if there should remain two or more who have
equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice-Presi¬
dent.]
The Congress may determine the time of choosing the Electors, and
the day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall be the same
throughout the United States.
No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United
States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible
to the office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that
office who shall not have attained the age of thirty-five years, and been
fourteen years a resident within the United States.
In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death,
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-Pr.esident, and the Congress
may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inabil¬
ity, both of the President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall
then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the dis¬
ability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a com¬
pensation which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the
period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive
within that period any other emolument from the United States or any of
them.
Before he enters on the execution of his office, he shall take the fol¬
lowing oath or affirmation :
“ I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the
office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability,
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Sec. 2. The President shall be commander in chief of the army and
navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when
called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the
opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive
departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective
offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardon for offenses
against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.
He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present con¬
cur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice of the Senate,
shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of
the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States whose
appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be
established by law ; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment
of such inferior officers as they think proper in the President alone, in
the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.
The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may
happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which
shall expire at the end of their next session.
Sec. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information
of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such mea¬
sures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may on extraordinary
198
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
occasions convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagree¬
ment between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may
adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall receive
ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be
faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United
States.
Sec. 4. The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and con¬
viction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
Article III.
Section I. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested
in one Supreme Court, and such inferior courts as the Congress may from
time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the Supreme and
inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at
stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be
diminished during their continuance in office.
Sec. 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and
equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; to all cases
affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls ; to all cases of
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United
States shall be a party ; to controversies between two or more states ;
between a state and citizens of another state ; between citizens of differ¬
ent states ; between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants
of different states, and between a state or the citizens thereof, and foreign
states, citizens, or subjects.
In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls,
and those in which a state shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have
original jurisdiction.
In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall
have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions
and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by
jury ; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall
have been committed ; but when not committed within any state, the
trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have
directed.
Sec. 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levy¬
ing war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid
and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the tes¬
timony, of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open
court.
The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason,
but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture,
except during the life of the person attainted.
Article IV.
Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And
AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
iyy
the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such
acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.
Sec. 2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges
and immunities of citizens in the several states.
A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime,
who shall flee from justice and be found in another state, shall, on demand
of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered
up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime.
No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation
therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered
up on the claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.
Sec. 3. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this Union ;
but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any
other state ; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states,
or parts of states, without the consent of the Legislatures of the states
concerned, as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging
to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed
as to prejudice any claims of the United States or of any particular state.
Sec. 4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this
Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them
against invasion, and on application of the Legislature, or of the Execu¬
tive (when the Legislature can not be convened), against domestic vio¬
lence.
Article V.
The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the ap¬
plication of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call
a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be
valid to all intents and purposes as part of this Constitution, when rati¬
fied by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by con¬
ventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratifi¬
cation may be proposed by the Congress. Provided that no amendment
which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and
eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth
section of the first article ; and that no state, without its consent, shall
be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
Article VI.
All debts contracted and engagements entered into before the adop¬
tion of this Constitution shall be as valid against the United States under
this Constitution as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be
made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made,
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the
land ; and the Judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in
the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the mem-
7
200
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
bers of the several state Legislatures, and all executive and judicial offi¬
cers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound
by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution ; but no religious test
shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under
the United States.
Article VII.
The ratification of the Conventions of nine states shall be sufficient
for the establishment of this Constitution between the states so ratifying
the same.
Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present, the
seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand
seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the
United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have
hereunto subscribed our names.
GEO. WASHINGTON,
President and Deputy from Virginia.
New Hampshire.
John Langdon,
Nicholas Gilman.
Massachusetts.
Nathaniel Gorham,
Rufus King.
Connecticut.
Wm. Sam’l Johnson,
Roger Sherman.
Delaware.
Geo. Read,
John Dickinson,
Jaco. Broom,
Gunning Bedford, Jr.,
Richard Bassett.
Maryland.
James M’ Henry,
Danl. Carroll,
Dan. of St. Thos. Jenifer.
New York .
Alexander Hamilton.
New Jersey.
Wil. Livingston,
Wm. Paterson,
David Brearley,
Jona. Dayton.
Virginia.
John Blair,
James Madison, Jr.
North Carolina.
Wm. Blount,
Hu. Williamson,
Rich'd Dobbs Spaight.
Pennsylvania.
B. Franklin,
Robt. Morris,
Thos. Fitzsimons,
James Wilson,
Thos. Mifflin,
Geo. Clymer,
Jared Ingersoll,
Gouv. Morris.
South Carolina.
J. Rutledge,
Charles Pinckney,
Chas. Cotesworth Pinckney,
Pierce Butler.
G-eorgia.
William Few,
Abr. Baldwin.
WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary.
AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
203
Articles in Addition to and Amendatory of the Constitution
of the United States of America.
Proposed by Congress and ratified by the Legislatures of the several statei ,
pursuant to the fifth article of the original Constitution .
Article I.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Article II.
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free
state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
Article III.
No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without
the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be pre¬
scribed by law.
Article IV.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,
and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be vio¬
lated ; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by
oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched
and the persons or things to be seized.
Article V.
No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual
service in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any person be subject
for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall
be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor
shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Article VI.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have
been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and
cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him;
to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to
have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Article VII.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no feet
204
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United
States than according to the rules of the common law.
Article VIII.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed*
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Article IX.
The enumeration, in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Article X.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively,
or to the people.
Article XI.
The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to
extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one
of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or sub¬
jects of any foreign state.
Article XII.
The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot
for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an
inhabitant of the same state with themselves ; they shall name in their
ballots the person to be voted for as president, and in distinct ballots the
person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of
all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as "V ice-
President, and of the number of votes for each, which list they shall sign
and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United
States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the
Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives,
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person
having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President,
if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed ;
and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the
highest number not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as
President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by
ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be
taken by States, the representation from each state having one vote; a
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-
thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to
a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a Presi¬
dent whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the
fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as
President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of
the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-
President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be the majority
of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a major-
AND ITS AMENDMENTS.
205
ity, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose
the Vice-President ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds
of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number
shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible
to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the
United States.
Article XIII.
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted,
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their juris¬
diction.
Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro¬
priate legislation.
Article XIV.
Section 1. . All persons born or naturalized in the United States and
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and
of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United
States; nor shall' any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws.
Sec. 2. Representatives shall be appointed among the several states
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of per¬
sons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed ; but when the right to
vote at any election for the choice of Electors for President and Vice-
President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the execu¬
tive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the Legislature
thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being
twenty-one years of age and citizens of the United States, or in any way
abridged except for participation in rebellion or other crimes, the basis of
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the num¬
ber of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens
twenty-one years of age in such state.
Sec. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress,
or Elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or
military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previ¬
ously taken an oath as a Member of Congress, or as an officer of the
United States, or as a member of any state Legislature, or as an execu¬
tive or judicial officer of any state to support the Constitution of t lie
United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the
same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may,
by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability.
Sec. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States author¬
ized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and boun¬
ties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be ques¬
tioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall pay any debt
or obligation incurred in the aid of insurrection or rebellion against the
United States, or any loss or emancipation of any slave, but such debts,
obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void.
206
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
Sec. 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate
legislation, the provisions of this act.
Article XV.
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall
not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any state, on
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro¬
priate legislation.
ELECTORS OF PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT.
November 7, 1876.
COUNTIES.
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COUNTIES.
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4Q53
6308
1280
1142
363
1495
41
17
Livingston .
3550
2134
1170
1219
1520
1965
Logan .
2788
2595
37
17
43
183
Macon .
3120
2782
268
2
Macoupin .
3567
4076
114
944
371 9
1
Madison .
4554
4730
39
2218
900
918
145
2
11
Marion .
2009
2444
209
441
2231
Marshall .
1553
1430
135
111
74
604
207
236
1
3
Mason .
1566
1939
86
1209
1618
7
Massac . .
1231
793
20
4530
3103
1
McDonough .
2952
2811
347
Lliallipalgu . .
2501
3287
1
6
McHenry .
3465
1874
34
1814
2197
1541
1989
2822
39240
9
McLean . . .
6363
4410
518
1416
1329
2957
36548
112
Menard .
1115
1657
10
.
132
102
Mercer .
2209
1428
90
Monroe .
845
1651
7
277
Montgomery .
2486
3013
201
1355
1145
3679
1 928
1643
1407
1413
38
129
65
746
94
25
Morgan .
3069
3174
109
Moultrie .
1245
1672
28
Tie* ¥olh
3
Ogle .
3833
1921
104
DoWi tt
1174
1357
1276
10
3
Peoria .
4665
5443
95
1631
2129
271 5
Pope .
1319
800
5
8
Perry .
1541
1383
48
2883
161
61
Piatt .
1807
'1316
117
Edwards . .
970
466
Pike... .
3055
1043
646
4040
772
459
35
Effingham .
1145
1881
1601
966
4187
2265
2421
742
1302
4669
1140
3160
1142
1433
4207
611
1015
1928
2578
2071
43
57
204
391
89
282
1
Pulaski .
Putnam .
14
Randolph .
2357
2589
2
Richland .
1410
1552
55
1
Rock Island .
3912
2838
27
703
2
Saline .
980
1081
641
1695
9
Sangamon .
4851
5847
29
1996
627
108
770
Schuyler . .
1522
1804
115
4
Scott .
910
1269
182
3496
330
1315
4177
Shelby .
2069
3553
341
134
1
Stark .
1140
786
96
St. Clair .
4708
5891
99
340
249
106
4
6
Stephenson .
3198
2758
26
3768
14
1
Tazewell .
2850
3171
44
2040
Union .
978
2155
3
Vermilion .
4372
3031
288
1346
1667
2166
2276
893
2850
1363
524
647
Wabash .
650
936
207
1345
2907
12
Warren .
2795
1984
138
140
2
3
Washington .
1911
1671
39
1367
5398
61
Wayne .
1570
1751
482
172
5
White .
1297
2066
469
2627
26
2
Whiteside .
3851
2131
133
1869
5235
309
Will .
4770
3999
677
2632
1647
6001
1329
2080
141
1
Williamson .
1672
1644
41
2619
55
1
Winnebago .
4505
1568
70
LaSalle .
6277
514
. . . .
15
Woodford .
1733
2105
237
Lawrence .
Lee .
1198
3087
27
100
2
6
Total .
275958
257099
16951
16
"i
13
1
3
3
7
3
8
1
3
2
9
'l
4
1
2
4
Practical Rules for Every Day Use.-
How to find the gain or loss per cent, when the cost and selling price
are given.
Rule. — Find the difference between the cost and selling price, which
will be the gain or loss.
Annex two ciphers to the gain or loss, and divide it by the cost
price ; the result will be the gain or loss per cent.
How to change gold into currency.
Rule. — Multiply the given sum of gold by the price of gold.
How to change currency into gold.
Divide the amount in currency by the price of gold.
How to find each partner's share of the gain or loss in a copartnership
business.
Rule. — Divide the whole gain or loss by the entire stock, the quo¬
tient will be the gain or loss per cent.
Multipty each partner’s stock by this per cent., the result will be
each one’s share of the gain or loss.
How to find gross and net weight and price of hogs.
A short and simple method for finding the net weight , or price of hogs ,
when the gross weight or price is given , and vice versa.
Note. — It is generally assumed that the gross weight of Hogs diminished by 1-5 or 20 per cent,
of itself gives the net weight, and the net weight increased by X or 25 per cent, of itself equals the
gross weight.
To find the net weight or gross price.
Multiply the given number by .8 (tenths.)
To find the gross weight or net price.
Divide the given number by .8 (tenths.)
How to find the capacity of a granary , bin , or wagon-bed.
Rule. — Multiply (by short method) the number of cubic feet by
6808, and point off one decimal place — the result will be the correct
answer in bushels and tenths of a bushel.
For only an approximate answer , multiply the cubic feet by 8, and
point off one decimal place.
How to find the contents of a corn-crib.
Rule. — Multiply the number of cubic feet by 54, short method, or
(207)
208
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
by 44 ordinary method, and point off one decimal place — the result will
be the answer in bushels.
Note.— In estimating corn in the ear, the quality and the time it lias been cribbed must be taken
into consideration, since corn will shrink considerably during the Winter and Spring. This rule generally holds
good for corn measured at the time it is cribbed, provided it is sound and clean.
How to find the contents of a cistern or tank.
Rule. — Multiply the square of the mean diameter by the depth (all
in feet) and this product by 5681 (short method), and point off ONE
decimal place — the result will be the contents in barrels of 314 gallons.
How to find the contents of a barrel or cask.
Rule. — Under the square of the mean diameter, write the length
(all in inches) in reversed order, so that its units will fall under the
tens ; multiply by short method, and this product again by 430 ; point
off one decimal place, and the result will be the answer in wine gallons.
How to measure boards.
Rule. — Multiply the length (in feet) by the width (in inches) and
divide the product by 12 — the result will be the contents in square feet.
How to measure scantlings, joists, planks, sills , etc.
Rule. — Multiply the width, the thickness, and the length together
(the width and thickness in inches, and the length in feet), and divide
the product by 12 — the result will be square feet.
How to find the number of acres in a body of land.
Rule. — Multiply the length by the width (in rods), and divide the
product by 160 (carrying the division to 2 decimal places if there is a
remainder) ; the result will be the answer in acres and hundredths.
When the opposite sides of a piece of land are of unequal length,
add them together and take one-half for the mean length or width.
o o
How to find the number of square yards in a floor or wall.
Rule. — Multiply the length by the width or height (in feet), and
divide the product by 9, the result will be square yards.
How to find the number of bricks required in a building.
Rule. — Multiply the number of cubic feet by 224.
The number of cubic feet is found by multiplying the length, height
and thickness (in feet) together.
Bricks are usually made 8 inches long, 4 inches wide, and two inches
thick : hence, it requires 2T bricks to make a cubic foot without mortar,
but it is generally assumed that the mortar fills 1-6 of the space.
How to find the number of shingles required in a roof.
Rule. — Multiply the number of square feet in the roof by 8, if the
shingles are exposed 44 inches, or by 7 1-5 if exposed 5 inches.
To find the number of square feet, multiply the length of the roof by
twice the length of the rafters.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
209
To find the length of the rafters, at one-fourth pitch, multiply the
width of the building by .56 (hundredths) ; at one-third pitch, by .6
(tenths) ; at two-fifths pitch, by .64 (hundredths) ; at one-half
pitch, by .71 (hundredths). This gives the length of the rafters from
the apex to the end of the wall, and whatever they are to project must be
taken into consideration.
Note. By ^ or % pitch is meant that the apex or comb of the roof is to be % or % the width of the
building higher than the walls or base of the rafters.
Row to reckon the cost of hay.
Rule. — Multiply the number of pounds by half the price per ton,
and remove the decimal point three places to the left.
How to measure grain.
Rule. — Level the grain; ascertain the space it occupies in cubic
feet ; multiply the number of cubic feet by 8, and point off one place to
the left.
Note.— Exactness requires the addition to every three hundred bushels of one extra bushel.
The foregoing rule may be used for finding the number of gallons, by
multiplying the number of bushels by 8.
If the corn in the box is in the ear, divide the answer by 2, to find
the number of bushels of shelled corn, because it requires 2 bushels of ear
corn to make 1 of shelled corn.
Rapid rules for measuring land without instruments.
In measuring land, the first thing to ascertain is the contents of any
given plot in square yards ; then, given the number of yards, find out the
number of rods and acres.
The most ancient and simplest measure of distance is a step. Now,
an ordinary-sized man can train himself to cover one yard at a stride, on
the average, with sufficient accuracy for ordinary purposes.
To make use of this means of measuring distances, it is essential to
walk in a straight line ; to do this, fix the eye on two objects in a line
straight ahead, one comparatively near, the other remote ; and, in walk¬
ing, keep these objects constantly in line.
Farmers and others by adopting the following simple and ingenious con¬
trivance , may always carry with them the scale to construct a correct yard
measure.
Take a foot rule, and commencing at the base of the little finger of
the left hand, mark the quarters of the foot on the outer borders of the
left arm, pricking in the marks with indelible ink.
To find hoiv many rods in length will make an acre , the ividth being given.
Rule. — Divide 160 by the width, and the quotient will be the answer.
I
210
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
How to find the number of acres in any plot of land , the number of rods
being given.
Rule. — Divide the number of rods by 8, multiply the quotient by 5,
and remove the decimal point two places to the left.
The diameter being given, to find the circumference.
Rule. — Multiply the diameter by 3 1-7.
How to find the diameter , when the circumference is given.
Rule. — Divide the circumference by 3 1-7.
To find how many solid feet a round stick of timber of the same thick¬
ness throughout will contain when squared.
Rule. — Square half the diameter in inches, multiply by 2, multiply
by the length in feet, and divide the product by 144.
Greneral rule for measuring timber , to find the solid contents in feet.
Rule. — Multiply the depth in inches by the breadth in inches, and
then multiply by the length in feet, and divide by 144.
To find the number of feet of timber in trees ivith the bark on.
Rule. — Multiply the square of one-fifth of the circumference in
inches, by twice the length, in feet, and divide by 144. Deduct 1-10 to
1-15 according to the thickness of the bark.
Howard's new rule for computing interest.
Rule. — The reciprocal of the rate is the time for which the interest
on .any sum of money will be shown by simply removing the decimal
point two places to the left ; for ten times that time, remove the point
one place to the left; for 1-10 of the same time, remove the point three
places to the left.
Increase or diminish the results to suit the time given.
Note.— The reciprocal of the rate is found by inverting: the rate ; thus 3 per cent, per month, in*
verted, becomes % of a month, or 10 days.
When the rate is expressed by one figure, always write it thus : 3-1,
three ones.
Rule for converting English into American currency.
Multiply the pounds, with the shillings and pence stated in decimals,
by 400 plus the premium in fourths, and divide the product by 90.
U. S. GOVERNMENT LAND MEASURE.
A township — 36 sections each a mile square.
A section — 640 acres.
A quarter section, half a mile square — 160 acres.
An eighth section, half a mile long, north and south, and a quarter
of a mile wide — 80 acres.
A sixteenth section, a quarter of a mile square — 40 acres.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
211
The sections are all numbered 1 to 86, commencing at the north-east
corner.
The sections are divided into quarters, which are named bv the
cardinal points. The quarters are divided in the same way. The de¬
scription of a forty acre lot would read : The south half of the west half of
the south-west quarter of section 1 in township 24, north of range 7 west,
or as the case might be ; and sometimes will fall short and sometimes
overrun the number of acres it is supposed to contain.
The nautical mile is 795 4-5 feet longer than the common mile.
SURVEYORS’ MEASURE.
7 92-100 inches .
25 links .
4 rods .
80 chains .
make 1 link.
• “ 1 rod.
. “ 1 chain.
. “ 1 mile.
Note. — A chain is 100 links, equal to 4 rods or 66 feet.
Shoemakers formerly used a subdivision of the inch called a barlev-
corn ; three of which made an inch.
Horses are measured directly over the fore feet, and the standard of
measure is four inches — called a hand.
In Biblical and other old measurements, the term span is sometimes
used, which is a length of nine inches.
The sacred cubit of the Jews was 24.024 inches in length.
The common cubit of the Jews was 21.704 inches in length.
A pace is equal to a yard or 36 inches.
A fathom is equal to 6 feet.
A league is three miles, but its length is variable, for it is strictly
speaking a nautical term, and should be three geographical miles, equal
to 3.45 statute miles, but when used on land, three statute miles are said
to be a league.
In cloth measure an aune is equal to 14 yards, or 45 inches.
An Amsterdam ell is equal to 26.796 inches.
A Trieste ell is equal to 25.284 inches.
A Brabant ell is equal to 27.116 inches.
HOW TO KEEP ACCOUNTS.
Every farmer and mechanic, whether he does much or little business,
should keep a record of his transactions in a clear and systematic man¬
ner. For the benefit of those who have no.t had the opportunity of ac¬
quiring a primary knowledge of the principles of book-keeping, we here
present a simple form of keeping accounts which is easily comprehended,
and well adapted to record the business transactions of farmers, mechanics
and laborers.
212
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
1875. a. H. JACKSON. Dr. Cr.
Jan.
10
To 7 bushels Wheat _ _
_ .at $1.25
$8
75
u
17
By shoeing span of Horses . .
$2
50
Feb.
4
To 14 bushels Oats _ _ _
_ .at 8 .45
6
30
ti
4
To 5 lbs. Butter _ _ _ _
. . at .25
1
25
March
8
By new Harrow. . . .
18
00
u
8
By sharpening 2 Plows. _
40
u
13
By new Double-Tree _ _ .
2
25
u
27
To Cow and Calf. . . .
48
00
April
9
To half ton of Hay _ _ _ _
6
25
U
9
By Cash _ _
25
00
May
6
%J
By repairing Corn-Planter . . .
4
75
(<
24
To one Sow with Pigs. _
17
50
July
4
By Cash, to balance account _ _
35
15
oo
00
05
$88
05
1875
CASS A MASON.
D .
Cr
•
March 21
By 3 days’ labor. _ _ _ _ _
$3
>+j ~
7o
a
21
To 2 Shoats _ _ _ _ _ . .
_ at 3.00
$6
00
u
23
To 18 bushels Corn _ .. _
_ at .45
8
10
May
1
By 1 month’s Labor _ _ _
25
00
U
1
To Cash _ _ . _ ..
10
00
June
19
By 8 days’ Mowing _ _ . _
_ at $1.50
12
00
U
26
To 50 lbs. Flour _ _
2
7 5
July
10
To 27 lbs. Meat . . _ _ _
. .at $ .10
2
70
u
29
Bv 9 days’ Harvesting _ _ _
_ at 2.00
18
00
Aug.
12
By 6 days’ Labor _ ...... . .
_ at 1.50
9
00
ti
12
To Cash . . . . . . .
20
00
Sept.
1
To Cash to balance account _ _
18
20
867
75
$67
75
INTEREST TABLE.
A Simple Rule foii accurately Computing Interest at Any Given Per Cent, for Any
Length of Time.
Multiply the principal (amount of money at interest) by the time reduced to days; then divide this product
by the quotient obtained by dividing 360 (the number of days in the interest year) by the per cent, of interest,
andt/je quotient thus obtained will be the required interest.
ILLUSTRATION.
Solution.
Require the interest of $462.50 for one month and eighteen days at 6 per cent. An $462.50
interest month is 30 days; one month and eighteen days equal 48 days. $4b2.50 multi- .48
plied by .48 gives $222 0000; 360 divided by 6 (the per cent, of interest) gives 60, and -
$222.0000 divided by 60 will give you the exact interest, which is $3.70. If the rate of 370000
interest in the above example were 12 per cent., we would divide the $222.0000 by 30 6)360 185000
(because 360 divided by 12 gives 30); if 4 per cent., we would divide by 90; if 8 per - -
cent., by 45: and in like manner for any other per cent. • 60 / $222.0000($3 70
180
420
420
00
MISCELLANEOUS TABLE.
12 units, or things, 1 Dozen.
12 dozen, 1 Gross.
20 things, 1 Score.
196 pounds, 1 Barrel of Flour.
200 pounds, 1 Barrel of Pork.
56 pounds, 1 Firkin of Butter.
24 sheets of paper. 1 Quire.
20 quires paper 1 Ream.
4 ft. wide, 4 ft. high, and 8 ft. long, 1 Cord Wood.
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION.
213
NAMES OF THE STATES OF THE UNION, AND THEIR SIGNIFICATIONS.
Virginia. — The oldest of the States, was so called in honor of Queen
Elizabeth, the “ Virgin Queen,” in whose reign Sir Walter Raleigh made
his first attempt to colonize that region.
Florida. — Ponce de Leon landed on the coast of Florida on Easter
Sunday, and called the country in commemoration of the day, which was
the Pasqua Florida of the Spaniards, or “Feast of Flowers.”
Louisiana was called after Louis the Fourteenth, who at one time
owned that section of the country.
Alabama was so named by the Indians, and signifies “ Here we Rest.”
Mississippi is likewise an Indian name, meaning “ Long River.”
Arkansas , from Kansas, the Indian word for “ smoky water.” Its
prefix was really arc , the French word for “ bow.”
The Carolinas were originally one tract, and were called “Carolana,”
after Charles the Ninth of France.
Georgia owes its name to George the Second of England, who first
established a colony there in 1732.
Tennessee is the Indian name for the “ River of the Bend,” i. e., the
Mississippi which forms its western boundary.
Kentucky is the Indian name for “ at the head of the river.”
Ohio means “ beautiful ; ” Iowa, “ drowsy ones ; ” Minnesota, “ cloudy
water,” and Wisconsin, “ wild-rushing channel."
Illinois is derived from the Indian word illini, men, and the French
suffix ois, together signifying “ tribe of men.”
Michigan was called by the name given the lake, fish-weir, which was
so styled from its fancied resemblance to a fish trap.
Missouri is from the Indian word “ muddy,” which more properly
applies to the river that flows through it.
Oregon owes its Indian name also to its principal river.
Cortes named California.
Massachusetts is the Indian for “ The country around the great hills.”
Connecticut, from the Indian Quon-ch-ta-Cut, signifying “ Long
River.”
Maryland, after Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles the First, of
England.
New York was named by the Duke of York.
Pennsylvania means “ Penn’s woods,” and was so called after William
Penn, its orignal owner.
214
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
Delaware after Lord De La Ware.
New Jersey, so called in honor of Sir George Carteret, who was
Governor of the Island of Jersey, in the British Channel.
Maine was called after the province of Maine in France, in compli¬
ment of Queen Henrietta of England, who owned that province.
Vermont, from the French word Vert Mont, signifying Green
Mountain.
New Hampshire, from Hampshire county in England. It was
formerly called Laconia.
The little State of Rhode Island owes its name to the Island of
Rhodes in the Mediterranean, which domain it is said to greatly
resemble.
Texas is the American word for the Mexican name by which all that
section of the country was called before it was ceded to the United States.
POPULATION OF THE
UNITED STATES.
States axd Territories.
Total
Population
Alabama . .
996.992
484,471
560.247
537,454
125,015
187,74 8
1.184,109
2,539,891
1,680,637
1,191,792
364,399
1,321,011
726.915
626.915
780,894
1,457,351
1,184.059
439.706
827,922
1,721.295
122.993
42.491
318.300
906,096
4,382.759
1,071,361
2,665.260
90,923
3,521.791
217.353
705,606
1,258,520
818,579
330.551
1,225,163
442.014
1,054.670
Arkansas .
California .
Connecticut .
Delaware . .
Florida .
Georgia .
Illinois .
Indiana .
Iowa .
Kansas .
Kentucky .
Louisiana .
Maine .
Mar viand .
Massachusetts . — .
Michigan .
Minnesota .
Mississippi .
Missouri .
Nebraska .
Nevada .
New Hampshire .
New Jersey .
New York .
North Carolina .
Ohio . .
Oregon .
Pennsylvania .
Rhode' Island .
South Carolina .
Tennessee .
Texas .
Vermont .
\ irginia .
West Virginia .
Wisconsin .
Total States .
38,113,253
Arizona .
9.658
39.864
14,181
131.700
1 J QOO
Colorada .
Dakota .
District of Columbia .
Idaho .
Montana .
20,595
91.874
86,786
23,955
9,118
New Mexico .
Utah .
Washington .
Wyoming .
Total Territories .
442,730
Total United States .
38,555,983
POPULATION OF FIFTY
PRINCIPAL CITIES.
Cities.
Aggregate
Population.
New York. N. Y _
Philadelphia, Pa...
Brooklyn, N. Y .
St. Louis, Mo .
Chicago, Ill .
Baltimore, Md .
Boston, Mass .
Cincinnati, Ohio...
New Orleans, La. .
San Francisco, Cal.
Buffalo, N. Y .
Washington, D. C..
Newark. N. J .
Louisville, Kv .
Cleveland, Ohio _
Pittsburg, Pa .
Jersey City, N. J ..
Detroit, Mich .
Milwaukee, Wis...
Albany, N. Y .
Providence, R. I...
Rochester, N. Y _
Allegheny, Pa .
Richmond, Va .
New Haven, Conn.
Charleston, S. C _
Indianapolis, Ind..
Troy, N. Y .
Syracuse, N. Y .
Worcester, Mass...
Lowell, Mass .
Memphis, Tenn _
Cambridge, Mass..
Hartford, Conn....
Scranton, Pa .
Reading, Pa .
Paterson, N. J .
Kansas City, Mo...
Mobile, Ala .
Toledo, Ohio .
Portland, Me .
Columbus, Ohio _
Wilmington, Del...
Dayton, Ohio .
Lawrence, Mass _
Utica, N. Y . .
Charlestown, Mass
Savannah, Ga .
Lynn. Mass .
Fall River, Mass...
942,292
674,022
396.099
310,864
298.977
267,354
250,526
216,239
191,418
149.473
117,714
109,199
105.059
100,753
92,829
86,076
82,546
79.577
71,440
69,422
68.904
62,386
53.180
51.038
50.840
48,956
48,244
46,465
43.051
41.105
40,928
40,226
39,634
37.180
35,092
33,930
33.579
32,260
32,034
31.584
31,413
31,274
30.841
30.473
28,921
28.804
28,323
28,235
28,233
26,766
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
213
POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.
States and
Territories.
States.
Alabama .
Arkansas .
California .
Connecticut .
Delaware .
Florida .
Georgia .
Illinois .
Indiana .
Iowa .
Kansas .
Kentucky .
Louisiana .
Maine . . .
Maryland . . .
Massachusetts. . .
Michigan* .
Minnesota .
Mississippi .
Missouri .
Nebraska .
Nevada .
New Hampshire.
New Jersey .
New York .
North Carolina. .
Ohio .
Oregon .
Area in
square
Miles.
50,722
52,198
188,981
4.674
2,120
59,268
58,000
55,410
33,809
55,045
81,318
37,600
41,346
31,776
11,184
7,800
56,451
83,531
47,156
65,350
75,995
112,090
9,280
8.320
47,000
50,704
39,964
95,244!
1870.
l,’07l|361
LATION.
Miles
R. R.
1872.
1875.
2 .
1,671
[ .
25
7 .
1,013
1 .
820
5 .
227
3 .
466
1 .
2,108
1 .
5,904
7 .
3,529
2 1,350,544
3.160
? 528,349
1,760
1,123
5 857,639
5 .
539
871
i .
820
1,651,912
1,606
i 1,334,031
2,235
> 598,429
3 .
1,612
990
2,580
3 246,280
828
52,540
.
593
790
1,026,502
1,265
4,705,208
4,470
1,190
1 .
3,740
.
169
cen in 1874.
States and
Territories.
States.
Pennsylvania...
Rhode Island...
South Carolina.
Tennessee .
Texas .
Vermont .
Virginia .
West Virginia...
Wisconsin .
Total States.
Territories.
Arizona .
Colorado .
Dakota .
Dist. of Columbia.
Idaho. .
Montana .
New Mexico .
Utah .
Washington .
Wyoming .
Total Territories.
Aggregate of U. S.
Area in
square
Miles.
46,000
1,306
29.385
45,600
237,504
10,212
40,904
23,000
53,924
1,950,171
113,916
104,500
147,490
60
90,932
143,776
121,201
80,056
69,944
93,107
965,032
Population.
1870.
3,521,
217,
705,
1,258,
818,
330,
1,225,
442,
1,054.
791
353
606
520
579
551
163
014
670
38,113,253
9,
39,
14,
131,
14,
20,
91.
86,
23,
9,
658
864
181
700
999
595
874
786
955
118
442,730
2,915,203 38,555,983
1875.
258,239
925,145
1,236,729
Miles
R. R.
1872.
5,113
136
1.201
1.520
865
675
1,490
485
1.725
59,587
392
375
"'498
1,265
Included in the Railroad Mileage of Maryland.
60,852
PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD;
Population and Area.
Countries.
Population.
China .
British Empire .
Russia .
United States with Alaska
France .
Austria and Hungary .
Japan .
Great Britain and Ireland
German Empire .
Italy . .
Spain .
Brazil .
Turkey .
Mexico .
Sweden and Norway .
Persia .
Belgium .
Bavaria .
Portugal .
Holland .
New Grenada .
Chili .
Switzerland .
Peru .
Bolivia .
Argentine Republic .
Wurtemburg .
Denmark .
Venezuela .
Baden .
Greece .
Guatemala .
Ecuador . '
Paraguay .
Hesse . '
Liberia . '
San Salvador .
Hayti .
Nicaragua .
Uruguay .
Honduras . '
San Domingo .
Costa Rica .
Hawaii .
446,500,000
226,817,108
81.925.400
38,925,600
36,469,800
35.904.400
34,785,300
31,817,100
29,906,092
27,439,921
16,642,000
10,000.000
16,463,000
9,173.000
5.921.500
5,000,000
5,021,300
4.861.400
3,995,200
3,688,300
3,000,000
2,000,000
2,669,100
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,812,000
1.818.500
1,784,700
1,500,000
1.461.400
1,457,900
1,180,000
1,300,000
1,000,000
823,138
718,000
600,000
572,000
350,000
300,000
350,000
136,000
165.000
62.950
Date of
Census.
1871
1871
1871
1870
1866
1869
1871
1871
1871
1871
1867
1869
1870
1870
1869
1871
1868
1870
1870
1869
1870
1871
1869
1871
1870
isVi
1870
1871
187 i
mi
1871
'1871
1871
1871
'1870
Area in
Square
Miles.
Inhabitants
to Square
Mile.
Capitals.
Population.
3,741,846
119.3
Pekin .
1,648,800
4,677,432
48.6
London .
3,251,800
8,003,778
10.2
St. Petersburg .
667,000
2,603,884
7.78
Washington .
109,199
204,091
178.7
Paris .
1,825,300
240.348
149.4
Vienna .
833, 900
149,399
232.8
Yeddo .
1,554,900
121,315
262.3
London .
3,251,800
160,207
187.
Berlin .
825,400
118,847
230.9
Rome .
244,484
195,775
85.
Madrid .
332,000
3,253,029
3.07
Rio Janeiro .
420,000
672,621
761,526
24.4
Constantinople .
Mexico .
1,075,000
210.300
136.900
292.871
20.
Stockholm .
635,964
7.8
Teheran .
120.000
11,373
441.5
Brussels . .
314.100
29,292
165.9
Munich .
169.500
34,494
115.8
Lisbon .
224,063
12,680
290.9
Hague .
90,100
357,157
8.4
Bogota, j .
45,000
132,616
15.1
Santiago .
115,400
15,992
166.9
Berne .
36.000
471.838
5.3
Lima .
160.100
497,321
4.
Clniquisaca .
25.000
871,848
2.1
Buenos Ayres .
177.800
7,533
241.4
Stuttgart .
91.600
14,753
120.9
Copenhagen .
162.042
368,238
4.2
Caraceas .
47.000
5,912
247.
Carlsruhe .
36.600
19,353
75.3
Athens .
43,400
40,879
28.9
Guatemala .
40.000
218,928
5.9
Quito .
70.000
63,787
15.6
Asuncion.; .
48.000
2,969
277.
Darmstadt .
30.000
9,576
74.9
Monrovia .
3.000
7,335
81.8
Sal Salvador .
15.000
10,205
56.
Port au Prince .
20.000
58,171
6.
Managua .
10.000
66,722
6.5
Monte Video .
44.500
47,092
7.4
Comayagua .
12.000
17,827
7.6
San Domingo .
20.000
21,505
7.7
San Jose .
2.000
7.633
80.
Honolulu .
7,633
216
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
POPULATION OF ILLINOIS,
By Counties.
COUNTIES.
Adams _
Alexander. .
Bond _
Boone _
Brown _
Bureau _
Calhoun _
Carroll _
Cass _
Champaign .
Christian ...
Clark _
Clay _
Clinton _
Coles _
Cook . .
Crawford _
Cumberland .
De Kalb....
De Witt _
Douglas _
Du Page _
Edgar _
Edwards _
Effingham _
Fayette _
Ford _
Franklin _
Fulton .
Gallatin _
Greene _
Grundy _
Hamilton _
Hancock _
Hardin _
Henderson
Henry .
Iroquois _
Jackson _
Jasper _
Jefferson _
Jersey _
Jo Daviess...
Johnson _
Kane . .
Kankakee _
Kendall _
Knox _
Lake _ . . . . _ .
La Salle _
Lawrence _
Lee ... _
Livingston ..
Logan _
■
AGGREGATE.
1870.
I860.
1850.
1840.
1830.
1820.
56362
2 4132:
2650*
1447^
2l8(
IO56.
1 470:
248^
3313
I39c
> 626
I3I5S
981 =
6144
506c
312/
2931
1294s
Il67£
7624
170=
1220=
993S
719S
418-3
_
324U
26426
8841
3 067
6562
5144
3231
I74i
109;
. .
1670=
H733
4586
1023
II58C
II325
7253
2981
32737
14629
2649
1475
20363
IO492
3203
1878
13719
I4987
9532
7453
394C
931
15875
9336
4289
3228
755
16285
I O94 1
5139
3718
2330
25235
14203
9335
9616
349966
144954
43385
10201
I3889
II55I
7135
4422
3ii7
*23
2999
12223
83II
37i8
23265
I9086
7540
1697
I4768
10820
5002
3247
13484
7I4O
16685
14701
9290
3535
21450
16925
10692
8225
4071
7565
5454
3524
3070
1649
3444
15653
78 16
3799
1675
I9638
11189
8075
6328
2704
9IO3
1979
12652
9393
5681
3682
4083
1763
38291
33338
22508
13142
1841
III34
8055
5448
10760
7405
3155
202 77
16093
12429
11951
7674
14938
10379
3023
13014
99T5
6362
3945
2616
35935
29061
14652
9946
483
5ii3
3759
2887
1378
12582
9501
4612
35506
20660
3S07
1260
4i
25782
12325
4149
1695
19634
9589
5862
3566
1828
1:542
11234
8364
3220
1472
17864
12965
8109
5762
2555
691
I5°54
12051
7354
4535
27S20
27325
1S604
61S0
2111
1124S
9342
4114
3626
1596
843
39091
30062
16703
6501
.24352
15412
12399
1:3074
7730
39522
28663
13279
7060
274
21014
18257
14226
2634
60792
48332
17815
9348
12533
9214
6121
7092
3668
27171
17651
5-292
2035
3i47i
11637
1553
759
23053
14272
5128
2333
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION
217
POPULATION OF ILLINOIS — Concluded.
COUNTIES.
Macon _
Macoupin. .
Madison _
Marion _
Marshall _
Mason _
Massac _
McDonough
McHenry . .
McLean _
Menard _
Mercer _
1870.
1860.
26481
13738
32726
24602
44131
31251
20622
12739
16950
13437
16184
IO93I
9581
6213
26509
20069
23762
22089
53988
28772
H735
9584
18769
15042
Monroe _
Montgomery
Morgan _
Moultrie _
Ogle . .
Peoria _
Perry _
Piatt _
Pike _
Pope _
Pulaski _
Putnam _
Randolph _
Richland _
Rock Island
Saline _
Sangamon ..
Schuyler _
Scott .
Shelby _
Stark . .
12982
12832
25314
13979
28463
221 12
IO385
6385
27492
22888
47540
36601
13723
9552
10953
6127
30768
27249
H437
6742
8752
3943
6280
5587
20859
17205
12803
9711
29783
21005
I2714
9331
46352
32274
17419
14684
10530
9069
25476
14613
IO751
9004
St.Clair . . .
Stephenson . _ _
51068
30608
27903
165 18
30388
8841
23174
17599
19758
16846
27503
43013
17329
29301
18956
Tazewell _
Union _ _
Vermilion _
Wabash _
Warren. ...
Washington _
Wayne _
White . .
Whitesides _
Will _
Williamson _
Winnebago _
Woodford . . .
Total _
2539891
37694
25112
21470
11181
19800
7313
18336
I373I
12223
12403
18737
29321
12205
24491
13282
1711951
AGGREGATE.
1850.
3988
12355
20441
6720
5180
5921
4092
7616
14978
IO163
6349
5246
7679
6277
16064
3234
10020
17547
5278
1606
18819
3975
2265
3924
1 1079
4012
6937
5588
19228
10573
7914
7807
37io
20180
1 1666
12052
7615
1 1492
4690
8176
6953
6825
8925
536i
16703
7216
II773
4415
851470
1840.
3039
7926
14433
4742
1849
5308
2578
6565
4431
2352
4481
4490
19547
3479
6153
3222
11728
4094
2131
794
1830. 1820
2610
14716
6972
6215
6659
1573
13631
2800
7221
5524
9303
424O
6739
4810
5133
7919
2514
IOI67
4457
4609
476183
1122
1990
6221
2125
13550
(*)
26
2000
2953
12714
(c)
1215
2396
3316
"•1310
4429
12960
^2959
2972
7078
4716
3239
5836
2710
308
1675
2553
6091
*
21
1516
2610
3492
*5
5248
2362
1517
1114
4S28
1574-15
*49
55162
PRODUCTIONS OF AGRICULTURE, STATE OF ILLINOIS, BY COUNTIES.— 1870.
COUNTIES.
Total . .
Adams .
Alexander .
Bond .
Boone . .
Brown .
Bureau . .
Calhoun .
Carroll .
Cass .
Champaign .
Christian .
Clark .
Clay .
Clinton .
Coles .
Cook . .
Crawford .
Cumberland....
DeKalb .
DeWitt .
Douglas .
DuPage .
Edgar .
Edwards .
Effingham .
Fayette .
Ford .
Franklin .
Fulton . .
Gallatin .
Greene .
Grundy... .
Hamilton .
Hancock .
Hardin .
Henderson .
Henry . .
Iroquois _
Jackson .
Jasper . ,
Jefferson . . , .
Jersey .
JoDaviess ......
Johnson. . _ .
Kane . .
Kankakee .
Kendall .
Knox .
Lake .
LaSalle . .
Lawrence .
Lee .
Livingston .
Logan .
Macon .
Macoupin .
Madison .
Marion . .
Marshall . .
Mason .
Massac .
McDonough .
McHenry .
McLean .
Menard .
Mercer . .
Monroe .
Montgomery .
Morgan .
Moultrie .
Ogle .
Peoria .
Perry .
Piatt .
Pike .
Pope .
Pulaski .
Putnam .
Randolph .
Richland .
Rock Island .
Saline .
Sangamon .
Schuyler .
Scott .
Shelby .
Stark .
St. Clair .
Stephenson .
Tazewell .
Union .
Vermilion .
Wabash .
Warren .
Washington .
Wayne .
White .
Whitesides .
Will .
Williamson .
Winnebago .
Woodford .
Improved
Land.
Woodl’nd
Other un¬
improved
Spring
Wheat.
Winter
Wheat.
Rye.
Indian
Corn.
Oats.
Number.
Number.
Number.
Bushels.
Bushels.
Bushels.
Bushels.
Bushels.
19.329.95a
5,061.578
1.491.331
10.133,207
19.995,198
2.456,578
129,921,395
42.780.851
287,926
112,576
19,370
16,191
947,616
20,989
1,452,905
759,074
13,836
145,045
17,761
42,613
1,915
700
42,658
368.625
30
6,240
244,220
1,064,052
21,627
461,097
137,307
29,886
2,658
241,042
599
35,871
466,985
579,127
57,062
35,491
25,608
13,276
117.502
4,742
337.769
70,852
398,611
41,866
15,803
465,236
724
43,811
3,030,404
987,426
37,684
63.443
2,754
75
221,298
186
234,041
26,234
186,864
29,793
33,302
418,073
260
25,721
1,367 965
775,100
92.902
33,493
6,604
12,165
127,054
2.772
1,146,980
168,784
419,368
16,789
58,502
102,577
123,091
45,752
3,924,720
721,375
241,472
19,803
19,17.3
18,360
504,041
10,722
1,883,336
383,821
118,594
102,201
5,420
195,118
7,308
614.582
212.628
146,922
80,612
5,225
1,894
85,737
3,221
1,019,994
269.945
150,177
48,868
8,722
500
610,888
1,619
813.257
446,324
208,337
45,214
3,274
2,651
154.485
8,825
2,133.111
315,954
348,824
19,635
17,337
144,296
4,904
20,171
570,427
1,584,225
105,505
78,350
27,185
60
212,924
15,497
581.964
136,255
75,342
40,334
5,604
550
84,697
14,798
403,075
171,880
334,502
17,722
6,551
398,059
190
21,018
1,023,849
1,087,074
168,539
29,548
17.633
106,493
11,695
11 540
1,311,635
216,756
147,633
11,897
7,316
7,683
65,461
9,017
1,680,225
225,074
164,874
17,243
3.851
106,096
693
7,532
331,981
860,809
^65,458
66,803
14,282
13 283
247,360
37,508
2,107,615
290,679
58,912
57,585
830
122,703
528
352,371
129,152
120,343
56,330
26,206
77
195,716
19,759
620.24?
386.073
187,196
93,460
16,786
351,310
25,328
962,525
497,395
141,228
2,996
63,976
42,571
1,008
11,57?
565,671
154,589
80,749
3,994
86,710
365
111,324
5.195
653.209
222,426
228,132
123,823
4,076
193,669
223,930
131,711
1,508,763
261,390
49,572
68,750
2,565
83,093
512
509,491
27,164
175,408
93,242
29.653
21,700
577,400
415
1,051,313
64,029
193,999
6,256
4,505
150
4,930
295,971
269,332
88,996
93,878
3,343
129
92,347
11.672
735,252
203,464
311,517
43.385
18,480
181,378
232,750
133,533
1,510.401
579,599
28,117
44,771
107
13
32.306
865
172,651
26,991
140,954
34,705
14,243
161,112
69,062
96,430
1,712,901
229,286
265.904
12,620
31,459
462,379
445
35,766
2,541,683
668,367
322,510
22.478
63,498
57,160
10,480
23,259
799,810
430,746
78,548
87,642
5,991
890
329,036
524
611,951
149,931
90,867
67,023
12,250
87.808
9,165
461,345
149,214
118,951
94,888
778
100,553
5,934
887,981
285,949
94,147
156,517
51,42?
82,07c
1,363
45,779
282,758
558,367
555
7.185
519,120
1,286,326
71,770
874,016
57,820
3
79,141
92,191
2,468
343,298
74,525
240,120
34,646
399
188,826
325
23,618
674,333
785,608
312,182
10,978
10,598
103,466
480
12,935
637,399
772,408
164.004
14,244
2,283
90,681
1,249
5.163
681,26?
468.890
330,829
41,566
25.150
267,764
7,654
113,54?
2,708,319
787,952
207,779
21,072
24,399
168,914
221
5.870
517,353
699,069
533,724
48,11?
2,356
271,181
2,193
48,308
3,077,028
1.509,642
87,828
72,738
3,273
264,134
1,121
656,363
131,386
322,212
12,071
7,409
450,793
2.260
14,829
1,656,978
903,197
377,505
12,462
41,788
120,206
1,339
26,163
1,182,696
659,300
321,709
17,394
408
198,056
40,963
37.232
4,221,640
490,226
205,259
18,153
9,115
55,239
196,613
29,223
2,214,468
454,648
231.059
81,224
7,343
160
861,398
2.404
1,051,544
459.417
257,032
89,450
13,675
550
1,207,181
3,685
2,127,549
475,252
173,081
61,579
4,142
106,129
173,652
1*4,51?
1,034,05?
389,446
166,057
28,26d
2,976
900
36,135
1,182,903
362,604
209,453
31,739
31,013
73,261
125,628
49,182
2,648,726
272,660
25,151
33,396
30
273,871
72,316
544
133,126
22.097
261,635
52,54?
14,035
36,146
52,401
1,362,490
280,717
230,566
53,293
57,998
401,790
270
29,264
1,145,005
910.397
494,978
40,366
49,087
211,801
10,955
39,824
3,723.379
911.127
134,173
34.931
13,952
36,152
45,793
4,283
1,973.880
235,091
222.809
45,97?
22,588
289,291
13,203
40,778
2,054,962
452.889
92,810
83,369
666
651,767
1,425
543,718
152,251
276,682
47,804
8,495
59
744,891
3,296
1,527,898
668,424
293,450
60,217
1,378
18,196
357,523
5,53 c
3,198,835
198,724
144,220
24,783
13,112
17,128
196,436
6,670
1,753.141
263,992
316,883
43,643
14,913
497,038
5,580
157,504
1,787,066
141,540
170,729
48,666
2,516
92,361
31,843
99,502
969,224
334,892
93,754
68,470
220
26,382
350,446
1,016
384,446
338.760
94,454
5,978
13,897
39,762
9,248
1,029.725
130,610
233,785
128,953
9,302
130
1 057,49?
25,303
1,399,188
161,419
55,980
19,319
37,271
87,754
12,516
17,184
4.174
28,137
70,457
44,922
796
2.309
222
7,70?
315,958
195,735
334,259
67,886
16,511
86,519
140,764
162,274
1.170
450
1,031.022
3,235
510,080
414,487
75,079
50,618
2 025
243,541
150,268
3.401
482,594
204,634
155,214
31,239
20,755
2.279
20,003
1,459.653
276,575
72,309
70,393
809
200
83.011
568
531,516
69.793
421,748
51,085
19,932
89,304
247.658
23,073
4,388,763
397,718
96,195
62,477
21,294
56,221
165,724
20.841
440,975
119.359
85,331
44,633
1,610
18
266.105
930
752,771
13.462
310,179
74,908
9,314
15,52b
452,015
23,686
2,082,578
637,812
138,129
12,375
2,783
124.630
30,534
1.149 878
316.726
231,117
76,591
2.016
2,550
1,562 621
1.008
1.423.121
476,851
254,857
43.167
13,701
527,394
2,118
135,362
1,615,679
960,620
229,126
45,268
14,846
132,417
72,410
59.027
2,062,053
505,841
75,832
83.606
5,300
180,231
1,737
679.753
124,473
360,251
53,078
31,122
44,806
249.558
52,476
2,818.027
436.051
54,063
266.187
37,558
27,294
509
14,583
186,290
202.201
5,712
72,212
421,361
2,982,853
110,793
601,054
177 592
55,852
1.931
672,486
2,576
836.115
533,398
147,352
146,794
10,486
266
164,689
8,665
1.179,291
404,482
92,398
78.167
869
184,321
418
870.521
119.653
289.809
21.823
37.310
457,455
264
31,658
2,162,943
880.838
419,442
24,261
6,335
195,286
1,996
8.030
1,131,458
1,868.682
128,448
116,949
1,648
176
170,787
6.228
655.710
180,986
241.373
37.238
15,237
408.606
2.468
137,985
1,237.406
868.903
225,504
25,217
23,135
178,139
108,307
20.426
2,154,185
744,581
HON.C.B. FARWELL
LAKE FOREST.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
BY E . M . HAINES.
THE COUNTY AT LARGE.
Lake County lies at the extreme northeast corner of the State of Illinois,
and is bounded on the north by Wisconsin, on the east by Lake Michigan, on
the south by Cook, and on the west by McHenry County. Its length, from
the southern boundary to the State line on the north, is 23 J miles. Its average
breadth is about 19^ miles; containing an area of about 460 square miles, or
294,400 acres. It its derives name from being situated upon Lake Michigan, as
well as from the great number of small lakes contained within it, amounting to
about forty in all. This county was originally a part of Me Henry, which lat¬
ter county was erected from Cook and La Salle, by the Legislature at its session
of 1835-6. It was detached from McHenry and erected as the county of
Lake, by an Act of the General Assembly, approved March 1, 1839.
Whilst the first settlement of the county is comparatively of recent date,
the period at which it was first visited by the white race is more remote, and
far beyond the memory of any one living at this time.
There has been a kind of tradition existing, that the place where Waukegan
(formerly called Little Fort) now stands was once the site of a small fort, and
that this point was, at an early day, occupied by the French as a trading post.
But the accounts which are given concerning it have been vague as to time,
and not entirely satisfactory. In Smith’s Documentary History of Wisconsin
is a narrative of Wm. S. Hamilton, as given to Cyrus Woodman, of that State,
some twenty years ago, in which Mr. Hamilton says that in 1825 he took
a drove of cattle from Springfield, Illinois, by way of Chicago, to Green Bay,
Wisconsin, to supply the United States army stationed there; that “from
Chicago to Grosse Point, he followed up the lake, though not immediately
along the shore Not far from Grosse Point, on a level and not elevated
piece of ground, were the remains of an old fort called, at that time, Little
Fort, the site, perhaps, of the town now called by the same name.' Mr.
220
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Hamilton probably saw the remains of this old fort, but his memory doubtless
failed him in correctly describing its location. Those who visited this point as
late as the Fall of 1835 say that there was at that time to be seen here, on the
high point just north of the present site of State street bridge, pickets, or
palisades, in a decayed condition, the remains of an old fort.
A history of the United States, published in London in 1795, containing a
map of the LTiited States, according to the treaty of 1783, the information for
which, so far as relates to the Northwest, doubtless dating back at least one hun¬
dred years from this time, shows at that time the existence of only two points on
the western shore of Lake Michigan ; these are Chicago and Little Fort, which
latter place is shown at the mouth of a stream designated as “ Old Fort River. "
From this, it seems that Little Fort, now called Waukegan, was a point known
to the wFites at least one hundred years ago. From the stream designated as
u01d Fort River,” we are led to infer that there was once, at this point, a fort
of still older date than the one which was called Little Fort. It is supposed
that this place was visited in 1679 by La Salle and Hennepin.
The land of which Lake County is comprised is a portion of the country
acquired by the United States Government by treaty with the Pottawattomie
and other tribes of Indians, at Prairie Du Chien, in August, 1829, by which
the Indian title became extinguished February 21, 1835. By stipulation,
however, the Indians remained in the country until August, 1836, when they
were removed to lands assigned them, west of the Missouri River, in what is
now the State of Kansas.
Daniel Wright was the first white settler, and built the first house, or per¬
manent habitation, in what is now Lake County, in August, 1834. It was on
the prairie, a short distance west of the Aux Plaines River, and about a mile south
of Indian Creek. In the Fall of that year, a death occurred in his family,
which is noted as the first death occurring in the county.
No permanent settlement of the county was commenced to any extent until
1836 ; occupancy of the lands being forbidden up to that time, by the United
States Government, as before remarked, on account of the Indian title not bein^
extinguished. Several claims of land were made, however, during the Summer
and Fall of 1834, in the vicinity of the Aux Plaines River. Among those who
made claims in 1834, who became settlers, were Daniel Wright, Hiram Kennicott.
Jonathan Rice, Asahel Talcott, Ransom and Richard Steele, William Cooley.
Charles H. Bartlett, Thomas McClure, Willard Jones, Phineas Sherman and
Amos Bennett — the latter of whom was a colored man, and the first of the African
race who came to what is now Lake County; he is said to have once remarked,
with much self-satisfaction, speaking apparently with reference to the Indians,
that he was the first white man that ever planted corn in Lake County. He
was a very intelligent man and much respected.
The settlement of the year 1835, which was limited to a few families, was
mostly along the west side of the Aux Plaines River, extending as far north
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
221
as the site of the Aux Plaines Bridge, in the present town of Warren. In the
Spring of this year, Peleg Sunderlin built a house on the prairie, on the Green
Bay road, about a mile north of what is now called Spaulding’s Corners, where
he opened a public house, or tavern, for the accommodation of travelers— being
the first house of that kind opened in the county. - °
In September of this year, Hiram Kennicott opened a store of goods at
this place, on the Aux Plaines River, near the mouth of Indian Creek, where he
had previously settled ; and this was the first store established in the county.
About this time Mr. Kennicott completed a saw-mill on the river, at the same
point, which he had commenced the Fall before ; and this was the first saw-mill
erected in the county.
At this time, the territory comprised in what afterward became the countv
ol Lake was a part of Cook County, and was within the Chicago Precinct, or
election district. At the September term, 1835, of the County Commissioners’
Court of Cook County, a new precinct was formed, comprising most of the ter¬
ritory north of the town of Chicago, styled Lake Precinct. The place of
holding elections was established at the house of Dexter Hapgood, about six
miles below the present site of the village of Wheeling. At a special election,
in this precinct, held October 1 < th, Hiram Kennicott was elected a Justice of the
Peace thirty-two votes, in all, being cast. He was the first Justice of the Peace
who sei ved in what is now called Lake County. Mr. Kennicott was a lawyer bv
profession, having studied law at Aurora, New York, with Millard Fillmore.
He was, therefore, the first lawyer who came to Lake County.
About the month of January, 1836, a daughter of Daniel Wright was mar¬
ried to William Wigham ; the ceremony was performed by Hiram Kennicott, as
Justice of the Peace, which was the first marriage occurring in the county.
At the September term of the County Commissioners' Court of Cook
County, the same year, Richard Steele, Thomas McClure and Mark Noble
were appointed Viewers to lay out a road from Chicago to the State line across
the Des Plaines River. The road was laid out in December following, and
established at the March term, 1836, being the first public road established by
the State authority within the limits of the present county of Lake. The record
designates the road as commencing at Chicago, at Kinzie street, thence to Went¬
worth’s Ridge ; thence to Planck’s Point; thence to Hickory Grove; thence
across the Des Plaines River to Wissencraft’s Point ; thence to Spring Creek
timber (supposed to be Indian Creek) ; thence to Winecup’s Point ; thence
across the Des Plaines River to the Green Bay road ; the United States Gov¬
ernment having previously established a road for military purposes from
Chicago to Green Bay, by the lake shore route, and which was known as the
“ Green Bay Road.”
Planck’s Point, alluded to, is what is now known as u Dutchman’s Point,
in the township of Niles, Cook County. A man by the name of Planck, of
German nationality, was the first settler at this point, and is probably the
222
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
first of that nationality who settled north of Chicago. He kept a public house,
and was known by travelers as “the Dutchman, ” from which the place became
generally known as “Dutchman’s Point.5'
Winecup’s Point is understood to refer to the point of timber on the road at
the crossing of the creek, about a mile north of Liberty ville, and should have
been Wynkoop’s Point, being at the place where Tobias Wynkoop settled in
1835 — a person of rare eccentricity, whose peculiarities are remembered by the
early settlers, and at whose expense many a ludicrous anecdote is related. He
was an extravagant man ; but his was an extravagance of ideas. In theory, he
was expansive, and never did anything on a small scale.
Wentworth’s Ridge was afterward known as the Sand Ridge, then seven
miles from Chicago. Elijah Wentworth was then the only inhabitant on this
ridge. He kept a public house eight miles from Chicago, where now is the
village of Jefferson. He was better known as “ Old Geese." If any one
incurred his disapprobation, he retorted, “You are a perfect geese;’’ from
which, in time, he took this name among travelers far and near.
This road became known as the Milwaukee road. That present important
thoroughfare in Chicago called Milwaukee avenue was established on the line
of this road, and takes its name therefrom.
During the year 1835, the first beginning was made at Waukegan, by a com¬
pany that had been formed at Chicago for the purpose of building up a town at that
point. The first habitation was built in the side of the bluff, a short distance north
of the ravine. In August of this year, Nelson Landon built a house and settled
on the prairie near the State line, being the first house built in what is now the
township of Benton. Jeremiah Stowell came at the same time, and settled near
by. During this year, also, Willard Jones settled at Jones Point; Leonard
and George Gage, and George A. Drury, at Gage’s Lake; William Fenwick,
at Diamond Lake ; Daniel Marsh, a few miles to the north of that ; Lewis G.
Schenck, Elisha Clarke, Solomon Norton and Hiram Clarke, at YIechanics
Grove. The first settlers about this grove were mechanics by trade, hence they
called it by this name. Mathias Mason and John Gridley and sons settled on
Indian Creek; John A. Mills, Seth Washburne, R. E. and J. M. Washburne,
James Chambers, Clark Knights, Alonzo Cook, Henry Wells, William Easton,
John A. Mills, Ransom Steele, Andrew S. Wells, John Herrick, Moses Putney,
Charles H. Bartlett, Elconah Tingley, James and William Lloyd, Robert,
Christopher and William Irwin, William Rumsey, Samuel Brookes, Ezekiel
Bovland and others settled at various points along the Aux Plaines River.
Thomas Tiernan settled near the place since known as the Toll Gate, on the
old plank road near Waukegan ; Otis Hinckley settled on the Green Bay road,
a short distance from where since stands the station house of the railroad at
Lake Forest ; John Flood settled at what is since known as Spaulding's Cor¬
ners ; Joseph Dehart, at the place since known as the New York House. The
Ylinsky brothers settled come distance north of that, in what is now the town
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
223
of Benton. Moses Putney, before mentioned, who settled on the road between
Liberty ville and Half-Day, was the first representative of Crispin, or, in other
words, the first shoemaker who practiced the cobbler’s art in Lake County.
In 1836, more progress Avas made, and the settlement of the county may be
said to have fairly commenced during this year. A saw-mill was built by .Seth
Washburne at Half-Day, and another by Jacob Miller on Mill Creek, about a
mile or two above its intersection with the Aux Plaines. In those days, <>reat
value was attached to a mill site. It was equal to a California gold mine of a
later day. This was the principal purpose for which the country Avas first ex¬
plored. But, strange as it may appear, out of the tAvelve water-mills that have
been erected in the county from first to last, nearly all have disappeared. The
evaporation and other causes following the improvement of the country ^o
reduced the supply of water that the mills could not be operated thereby, hence
one by one they have become abandoned.
The place now known as LibertyAdlle first acquired a name in the world in
1835, as "Yardin’s Grove.” During this year, a man by the name of Yardin
— an Englishman, and a gentleman of culture — built a small habitation at the
south side of the grove — where afterward lived Henry B. Steele — from whom
the grove, for a time, took its name.
In the Fall of 1835, a man by the name of Morse settled here, upon the
east side of the grove, and set up a shop for blacksmithing. He was the first
blacksmith who worked at the business in Lake County, having Avorked at his
trade for a few months previously at Kennicott’s mill.
About the month of June, 1836, a stage line Avas established between Chi¬
cago and Milwaukee by way of the neAvly laid out road before referred to, for
carrying passengers and the United States mail. The enterprise Avas com¬
menced by a Mr. Johnson, then proprietor of a hotel in Chicago, called the
New York House. The vehicle used was a common lumber wagon, but to give
n 7 cr
it character for the purposes used, it was draAvn by four horses. William
Lovejoy was the first driver upon the route. The mail, previous to that time,
had been carried betAveen Chicago and Green Bay, for the accommodation of
the military posts, once a month, by a man on foot, by the way of the Indian
trail near the lake shore.
On the 4th of July, 1836, the settlers at and about Yardin’s Drove assem¬
bled for the celebration of the day. This Avas the first formal celebration of
the kind in the county. The number present Avas about fifteen persons. A
liberty pole Avas erected, and the name of Independence Grove ghren to the
place — an appellation suggested by the occasion.
At this time, the lands in this part of the country Avere unsurveyed and the
title remained in the United States Government. For all practical purposes,
the settlers were beyond the reach of statute laws or civil authority.
The law rested in every man’s conscience. In short, the people were "a
law unto themselves.” If a person desired to select a tract of land, lie made a
224
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
44 claim,’ as the term for his right was expressed. The most substantial ev¬
idence of his claim was the erection of a habitation, no matter how small, or the
fencing or ‘‘breaking up' of land. If he could not conveniently do either of
these, for want of time or assistance, he would mark or cut down trees in vari¬
ous places on the land he wished to hold. This temporary evidence of inten¬
tion was usually respected for a season, and until such time as the party would
reasonably be expected to return and continue the evidence of his claim. A
large proportion of the county was originally claimed by this slight character of
evidence, under which many claims were sold to more bona fide settlers for a
large consideration — especially so where it was understood to possess the ad¬
vantages of a mill site.
The first resort to a court of justice to settle a dispute concerning the occu¬
pancy of a “claim " was on the part of a Mr. Blaisdell against Ezekiel Boy-
land. The land in question was that since owned and occupied by Proctor
Putnam, in the town of Warren. This was about the month of -January, 1836.
The process was issued by a Justice of the Peace in Chicago. The defendant
appeared : but the proceeding was not sustained. This is believed to be the
first judicial process of any kind ever served in Lake County.
The population of the county was at length increasing so rapidly that the
settlers saw the necessity of some mutual regulations among themselves for de-
fining and enforcing their rights concerning their possessions. Accordingly, a
general meeting of the settlers was convened at Independence Grove, on the 2d
of December, 1836, for conference and deliberation. Samuel Brooks was
chosen Chairman, and George Kimball, Secretary. A committee of three,
consisting of Xelson Landon. Samuel Brooks and Willard Jones, were ap¬
pointed to report resolutions and regulations. This committee reported a series
of resolutions and regulations, which were adopted, constituting an association
for the protection of claimants of land, prescribing their rights and duties, and
the remedy in case of trespass or invasion. It was called “ The Abingdon
Association of Settlers,” and became known in common speech as “ The Com¬
pact. " Meetings of the Association were held annually for the transaction of
business and election of officers. The history of this association illustrates the
power and influence of local self-government. The settlers looked upon any
interference on the part of the civil authorities as an encroachment not to be
tolerated, unless sanctioned at their popular assemblies, as indicated from the
following regulations adopted at a meeting held February 12, 1837 :
44 That every member of this Association does hereby bind himself to con¬
tribute his due proportionate share of the expenses incurred in defending or
prosecuting all suits at law or equity in which any member may be engaged in
consequence of obeying or carrying into effect the decisions or orders of the
commissioners, according to the 4th regulation of the 2d December, 1836."
The Legislature finally passed an act for the protection of settlers in their
possessions, or claims, in the absence of proper title, and which was only re-
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
225
cently repealed. This, in a measure, superseded the necessity for the compact,
and it gradually became dissolved.
There are many instances where the regulations of the compact were in¬
voked, and its decrees enforced — where families were forcibly removed as tres¬
passers or intruders, and their habitations destroyed.
On the 22d of August, 1836, a post office was established at Indian Creek,
called Half-Day, and Seth Washburn appointed Postmaster, being the first
post office established in the county. The name was taken from a Pottawattomie
Chief, whose village was on the river near the mouth of Indian Creek, and to
which Mr. Kennicott, whose place was near by, gave the name of Me-tah-wah,
in honor of a later chief, greatly respected by Mr. Kennicott.
In the Fall of this year, a school for the instruction of children was opened
at Half-Day, by Laura B. Sprague. This was the first school taught in what
is now Lake County.
Among those who came in 1836, in addition to names already mentioned,
were J. R. Nichols and sons, Jeremiah Porter and sons, who settled in what is
now the town of Benton : Gleason T. Haines, in the vicinity of Mill Creek :
the Caldwells, Arthur Patterson, Benjamin Marks, Isaac Hickox and sons,
Godfrey and Hiram Dwelley, Lawrence Carroll, and John Mullery, on the east
of the Aux Plaines ; the Hubbards, at Indian Creek ; Burleigh Hunt, at Little
Fort; Elmsley Sunderlin and Abraham Marsh, near the old New York House;
Churchell Edwards, Noer Potter and sons, and David Hendee, in what is now
the town of Avon; George. Ela and Abram Vanderwerker, at Deer Grove;
Alexander Fortune, at Lake Zurich, then called Cedar Lake; Justus Bangs,
at Bangs Lake ; James Bartlett and Levi Hutchinson, at Independence Grove ;
Mr. Arnold, on the west side of the Grove ; Rufus Soules on the river near
the south line of the county ; D. B. and Thomas Q. Gage, and Thomas
Warner, at and about the present site of Antioch, and John Cloes, who settled
in what is now called Lake Bluff'.
On the 4th of November, 1836, a post office was established about four
miles above Independence Grove, called Abingdon, and Samuel Brookes, who
resided at that point, appointed Postmaster. On the 16th of April, 1837, a
post office was established at Independence Grove, named Libertyville, and
Henry B. Steele was appointed Postmaster. The people desired that the
post office should take the name they had given to the grove; but learning that
there was already a post office in the State of that name, so that name could
not be adopted for that office, and being desirous of preserving a name in some
manner suggestive of their previous Fourth of July occasion, at the suggestion
of A. B. Wynkoop, who had recently settled there, and was taking an active
part in public affairs, the name of Libertyville was adopted. In the Fall of
1836, a school-house was built at Libertyville. It was a log building, the logs
being hewn on both sides — inside and out — commonly called a block-house. It
was the first school-house erected in the county. It was built by subscription
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
226
or contributions by the inhabitants, a large proportion of whom, it is noted to
their credit, were young bachelors.
In those days, the dwelling-houses or first habitations were built of logs,
ihere being a scarcity of lumber, the floors were usually of material split from
logs, commonly called “ puncheons,'' leaving the surface rough and uneven.
^ henever a house of commodious size was finished, with floor of sawed material,
the proprietor, by custom, usually dedicated it with a dance, called a house¬
warming. The first occasion of this kind in the county was at the house of
Hiram Kennicott, about the 25th of December, 1836. The people, old and
young, for a distance of twenty miles around, were invited — extending also to
Chicago. The company present was very large in proportion to the accommoda¬
tions, and the occasion was a merry one.
The first contested lawsuit in what is now Lake County, and indeed, prob¬
ably the first judicial proceeding occurring therein, was in the Fall of
1837, before Hiram Kennicott, a Justice of the Peace, at his place near Indian
Creek. It was a proceeding in the name of the People against Michael Dulanty.
for an alleged assault and battery, at the instance of Arthur Patterson, on
whom the offense was charged to have been committed. Dulanty pleaded justi¬
fication — that his integrity had been impugned by the complainant. Patterson,
who had recently been elected a Justice of the Peace, urged as an aggravation
of the offense the high dignity of his official position. The parties lived near
the lake shore, in the vicinity of what is now Highland Park. The scene of
the alleged conflict was at the Green Bay House, -a log tavern which stood on
the Green Bav road, between Highland Park and Highwood. The Justice
concurring in the position of the injured party, that it was a high offense to
assault a person representing the dignity of a magistrate of the law, read
to the defendant an impressive lecture as to his duty in future toward the
magistrates of his adopted country, imposing a fine of So. 00.
In August. 1837, Dr. J. H. Foster settled at Libertyville. He was the first
physician who settled in the county.
A large proportion of the early settlers were young men — unmarried.
Many married men came and made improvements before bringing their
families. This gave rise to that institution so well remembered by the
early settler called “bachelor’s hall, ' or, as commonly expressed, “keep¬
ing bach. This institution acquired more than ordinary respectability in
Lake County ; for which credit is due to the example of Joseph DeHart,
whose name is before, mentioned as an early settler in the north part of the
county, who is said to have received frequent calls from delegations of ladies
in the neighborhood, to compliment him for his excellent example in domestic
affairs.
In June, 1837, the Bev. Samuel Hurlbut settled near Independence Grove.
He was of the Methodist denomination, and the first minister of the Gospel
who preached and settled in Lake County.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
*227
In the Spring of 1837, the county of McHenry was organized pursuant to
an act of the General Assembly, approved March 1, 1837, comprising, with
other territory, that which is now Lake County.
The first election for county officers of McHenry County was held June
5th, at the house of Hiram Kennicott. Henry B. Steele was elected Sheriff':
Michael C. Maguire, Coroner ; Seth Washburne, Recorder; and Mathias Mason,
Charles H. Bartlett and Solomon Norton, County Commissioners. The whole
number of votes cast for the entire county being 138.
At a regular election in August following, Arthur Patterson was elected
Probate Justice of the Peace; Lewis G. Schenck, County Treasurer and
Assessor ; and a Mr. Dennison, Clerk of the County Commissioners’ Court.
The last named soon resigned, when Joseph Wood was elected to fill the
vacancy.
That part of the county east of I ox River became divided into four pre¬
cincts or election districts, called Abingdon, Indian Creek, Oak and Lake.
The first two were on the west, and the last two on the east of the Aux Plaines
River.
In June, 1838, Mr. Schenck, as ex officio Assessor, proceeded to assess the
taxable property of the county. This was the first assessment of property
in the county — being solely of personal property, as all the lands yet belonged
to the United States Government.
In the Fall of 1838, the county of McHenry being considered quite thickly
settled, it was deemed advisable for convenience of the inhabitants, in regard to
public affairs, that measures should be taken for a division into two counties.
Accordingly, a petition to the Legislature was circulated, praying for such
division, in response to which the General Assembly, at its session of 1838—9,
passed an act dividing the county of McHenry and creating therefrom the
county of Lake, establishing its boundaries as follows: “All that portion of
McHenry County east of a range or sectional line, not less than three miles,
nor more than four miles east of the present county seat (McHenry Village) of
McHenry County, shall constitute a new county, to be called the county of
Lake.”
About this time, an attempt was also made to create a new county, to be
called the county of Michigan, out of a portion of Cook and a part of that
portion of McHenry lying on the east of Fox River, so as to bring the county
seat at Wheeling, which, if accomplished, would defeat the plan of creating the
county of Lake and render more certain the continuance of the county seat of
McHenry County at McHenry Village. But the scheme was unsuccessful.
Joseph Filkins, of Wheeling, a prominent citizen of that day, was one of the
principal movers in this project.
By the act creating the county of Lake, Edward E. Hunter and William
Brown, of Cook County, and Col. E. C. Berry, of Fayette County, were
ap>pojnted Commissioners to locate the seat of justice. The two first named
228
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
were appointed at tlie suggestion of the friends of the measure, and Col. Berry
was selected from his thorough acquaintance with the geography of the county,
having a short time previous been engaged in surveying the government lands
therein, under the direction of the Surveyor General.
The Commissioners, or a majority of them, were required to meet at the
house of Henry B. Steele, at Independence Grove (now Libertyville), on the
first Monday in May, 1839, or as soon thereafter as might be convenient, and
after being duly sworn by some Justice of the Peace, faithfully to perform the
duties required of them as such Commissioners, to proceed to locate the seat of
justice for the new county, having due regard to the geographical situation, the
settlements and convenience of the population at that period, as well as there¬
after. As all the lands in the county, at that time, belonged to the govern¬
ment, it was required that a relinquishment should be obtained from the claim¬
ants of the lands on which the countv seat should be located to a tract not
e/
less than twenty acres, for the use and benefit of the county, upon which
to erect the county buildings; and it was made the duty of the County Com¬
missioners to obtain a title from the General Government of said lot of land
as soon as the same could be accomplished, and they were required to appro¬
priate from the funds of the county so much as would be necessary for that
purpose.
The legal voters within the territory of the new county were required to
meet at the several places of holding the last general election, under the organi¬
zation of McHenry County, on the first Monday in August, 1839. for the pur¬
pose of choosing county officers. The returns of said election were to be made
by the Judges and Clerks thereof, to the County Commissioners' Court of Mc¬
Henry County, according to the law in other cases, and the Clerk of said Court
was required to give certificates of election to the officers elect of the new
county.
The new county of Lake was. by this act, attached to the Seventh Judicial
Circuit.
About the 1st of June, 1839, two of the Commissioners, Hunter and
Brown, appointed to locate the county seat met at Libertyville, and after a
brief deliberation on the subject, selected that place as the location, and upon
conference with the inhabitants, gave to the new county seat the name of Bur¬
lington — being the fourth name applied to the place during that number of
years. Libertyville was probably at that time nearer the center of population
in the county than any other point. This fact rather induced a temporary
acquiescence in the action of the Commissioners in locating the county seat at
that place. There was a settled intention, however, on the part of certain
influential parties in the vicinity of the lake shore — the most prominent of
whom were Elmsley Sunderlin and Nelson Landon — to try, as soon as increase
of population and other circumstances would warrant it, and effect a removal of
the countv seat to Little Fort. This scheme entered secretlv into the first elec-
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
220
tion of county officers, which occurred on the first Monday in August, 1839.
The lesult of this election was as follows : Henry 11. Steele was elected Sheriff:
Chas. H. Bartlett, Nelson Landon and Jared Gage, County Commissioners :
Mathias Mason, County Treasurer; A. B. Wynkoop. Recorder; Lewis <i.
Schenck, School Commissioner; .John A. Mills, County Surveyor; Arthur
Patterson, Probate Justice of the Peace ; Starr Titus, Coroner; and Lansing
B. Nichols, Clerk of the County Commissioners’ Court. These were the first
county officers.
The friends of Little Fort secured a portion of the county officers. These
were Nelson Landon, Arthur Patterson and Lansing B. Nichols.
Two Justices of the Peace and two Constables were also elected at the
same time, in each precinct. The total number of votes cast in the county
was 375.
A special term of the County Commissioners' Court was immediately called
and convened at the county seat. At this term the county was divided into
eight precincts, or election districts — Lake, Oak, Middlesex, Burlington, Mill
Creek, Bristol, Fort Hill and Zurich. Afterward, Lake was divided, forming
a new precinct called Little Fort ; and Oak was divided, forming a new pre¬
cinct called Le Clair, in honor of Pierre Le Clair, a French half-breed of influ¬
ence among the Indians, who lived for a time at the Indian village near the
©
mouth of Indian Creek.
The subject of erecting county buildings was soon agitated, but it was
urged by Mr. Landon, and finally concurred in by the other Commissioners,
that the finances of the county would not justify such an undertaking for
some time to come. Whereupon an arrangement was entered into by the
County Commissioners, with Burleigh Hunt, of Little Fort, for the erection
of a suitable building at Independence Grove, to be rented to the county for
a term of years, for county purposes. The building was completed during the
Fall of 1839.
The first term of the Circuit Court in Lake County was held in the afore¬
said building in April, 1840. Judge John Pierson presided; Alonzo Hunt¬
ington was present as State’s Attorney ; A. B. Wynkoop, Clerk, and Henry B.
Steele, Sheriff. The lawyers present were Horace Butler, Nathan Allen, W. W.
Kellogg, Charles McClure, Grant Goodrich, Justin Butterfield, J. L. Loop,
and James M. Strode. The following were the Grand and Petit Jurors at this
term: Grand Jurors — Philip Blanchard, Richard D. Hickox, Richard Archer.
Rufus Soules, David Wait, Jonathan Rice, Leonard Loomis, John Robinson.
Abraham \andewacker, W. B. Wattles, David Rich, Oliver Booth, Laomi
Pearson, Samuel Burlingham, Elmsley Sunderlin, George Thompson, Hiram
Clark, Alexander Russel, Zabina Ford, John Olmsby, Lathrop Farnham, Geo.
A. Drury, Moses Sutton. Petit Jurors — Elbert Howard, Andrew Luce.
Leonard Spaulding, Godfrey Dwelley, Morris Robinson, Daniel Hubbard, Levi
Whitney, William Briggs, Charles S. Cary, Joshua Leach. Hiram Butrick,
230
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
George Gage, John Murray, Job W. Tripp, Milton Shields, Lewis Beecher.
William Ladd, Ransom Steele, Caleb Davidson, Malachi T. White, Hezekiah
Bryant, Nathaniel King, Solomon Norton, A. S. Wells.
The first civil case disposed of, being number one on the docket, was that of
Samuel Hurlbut vs. William Easton. The first criminal case was The People vs.
John J. Gatewood, indicted for stealing five dollars from Absalom Funk, a
drover. About this time there was a State Senator of note in this State, whose
name was Gatewood. The prisoner, Avhen arrested, manifested great surprise,
and demanded an apology from the officer for imposing on so high a dignitary,
announcing that his name was Gatewood — Senator Gatewood. The power of
this name, he fancied, would bring the officer to terms ; but it failed to do so.
When put on trial, he gave the name of Shepherd as his real name. He was
convicted and sentenced to one year in the penitentiary.
At the June term of the County Commissioners’ Court, Capt. Morris
Robinson was appointed by the Court to take the census of the county,
by authority of the State, enumerating the inhabitants resident on the 1st
of September of that year. The census was also taken in the same year
by Dr. Richard Murphy, by authority of the LTnited States, commencing
on the 1st of June, showing a population as enumerated by State authority
of 2,905; by United States authority, of 2,634 — an increase in three months
of 271.
The mission of Capt. Robinson seems, however, to have been mostly that of
ascertaining the minds of the people of the county on the subject of removing
the county seat from Liberty ville to Little Fort, and exhorting them to favor
the project. At his instance, petitions to the General Assembly, praying for
such removal, were put in circulation in every portion of the county where the
question was likely to meet with the least favor, which petitions were numer¬
ously signed.
At the August election for county officers for this year, L. B. Nichols was
elected to the office of Sheriff ; Thomas H. Payne, County Commissioner ;
Henry B. Steele, Clerk of the County Commissioners' Court, and Joseph
Wood, Coroner.
In November following, came the great Presidential contest between Har¬
rison and Van Buren. The number of votes polled in the county, at this elec¬
tion, was 548, giving a majority of fourteen votes for Harrison.
The Legislature having convened on the first Monday of December, Capt.
Robinson A\as selected by the friends of Little Fort to attend its session, for the
purpose of presenting the petitions for the removal of the county seat, and using
his exertions in behalf of the prayer of the petitioners, AAThich resulted in the pas¬
sage of an act submitting the question of removal to the people of the county on
the 5th of April, 1841; at Avhich election there were 744 votes cast, showing a
majority of 188 in favor of Little Fort. The county seat was, therefore,
on the 13th day of April, formally re-located and permanently established
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
231
at Little Fort, on the southeast quarter of Section 21. All the county office^
were removed accordingly.
By an act of Congress, the county would be entitled to 160 acres of land
by pre-emption, at the place where the county seat should be located ; that is
to say, the land upon which the county seat of any county should become .lo¬
cated, it being government land, the county should have the right by pre¬
emption to enter 160 acres of the same, tit the proper Land Office, by paying
|1.25 per acre. Accordingly, such persons as had any claims upon the south¬
east quarter of Section 21 very generously released them in favor of the county.
About the 20th of April, 1841, the land in question was purchased at the Land
Office at Chicago by the County Commissioners, Charles H. Bartlett, Nelson
Landon and Thomas H. Payne, for the county of Lake, it being the first trans¬
fer of land in fee simple in the county. It was then, by order of the Countv
Commissioners, subdivided into lots and blocks by the County Surveyor, John
A. Mills, with the assistance of his deputy, George Gage ; after which, a sale
of the lots was ordered, sufficient to meet the expenses incurred in perfecting
the title to and surveying the land, which sale took place on the 26th day of
May, 1841. The terms of the sale were: One-fourth of the amount of the pur¬
chase money in advance, and the balance in three equal installments, in six.
twelve and eighteen months.
At the time of the removal of the county seat, the county had no monev
in the treasury wherewith to purchase the land upon which the county had be¬
come entitled to a pre-emption. Elmsley Sunderlin, prompted by the interest
he felt in the removal of the county seat, was heard to remark on several oc¬
casions, that he had just two hundred dollars in gold that the county could have
the use of, with which to make the purchase, if desired. This coming to the
knowledge of the County Commissioners, they applied to him and obtained the
money with which the purchase was made.
The removal of the county seat, as it materially affected local interests,
created much feeling among the people of the county, especially in the sections
more immediately interested. This feeling grew to bitterness among citizens,
and entered into the general politics of the county. The two great political
parties of that day were the Whigs and Democrats. But in Lake County the
issues between these parties were for a time entirely ignored, and the county
seat question became the all-important one at all elections. The two factions
were styled “ the Grove party,’’ and “the Little Fort party.” The former
was confined mostly to the inhabitants of the southwestern portion of the
county. The policy of the Grove party was to elect such county officers as
were in favor of delaying the erection of county buildings at Little Fort, and
would lend their influence for removal of the county seat back to Independence
Grove.
Among other things, it was claimed, in the interest of Liberty ville, that
some defect in the law or informality in the proceedings had been discovered
232
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
whereby the county seat had not in fact been legally removed. Whereupon
the Recorder of Deeds, Mr. A. B. Wynkoop, holding to the same opinion,
caused his office to be removed back. This question was put at rest, however,
by the passage of an act at the next session of the Legislature declaring the
county seat permanently located at Little Fort, on the site selected by the
County Commissioners.
The first term of the County Commissioners’ Court, held at Little Fort, for
general purposes, was a special session in May, 1841. Commissioners Landon
and Payne favored the location of the county seat at Little Fort.
At the election in August, following, Mr. Landon, whose term of office
then expired, was re-elected. He thereupon called a special term of the Com¬
missioners’ Court, at which Henry B. Steele was removed from the office of
Clerk of the Court, on the ground of not giving personal attention to the
duties of the office, and Arthur Patterson was appointed in his stead. It was
subsequently decided, in a suit brought on the question, that Mr. Landon had
no authority to call a special term of the Commissioners' Court, in manner as
he did ; that therefore the term was illegally held, and Mr. Steele was restored
to his office.
The first term of the Circuit Court, held at Little Fort, convened on the
20th of October, 1841. There were present Hon. Theo. W. Smith. Judge pre¬
siding ; Henry Brown, Esq., State's Attorney; L. B. Nichols, Sheriff: and
I. R. Gavin, Clerk. Among the lawyers present were Horace Butler, Isaac
Hopkinson, Giles Spring, Grant Goodrich, P. Ballingall, J. M. Strode, B. S-
Morris, James Turney, C. B. Hosmer and E. A. Rucker.
About the time of adjournment of the court occurred the first instance of
burglary committed in the county. The subject of this offense was the store of
IT. Buell & Son, situated on the Milwaukee road, about a mile south of the
Aux Plaines bridge, in the present town of Warren. Nearly the entire stock
of goods was taken therefrom. The property was found secreted in the barn
of William Kellam, living some two or three miles down the road. Kellam
and one Edward Allen were convicted of the offense and sent to the peni-
tentiary.
At the December term of the Commissioners' Court, a contract was entered
into with Burleigh Hunt for the building of a county jail, which was completed
the ensuing Summer.
In 1842-3 occurred what is known as the “Cold Winter — the longest
and coldest remembered by the oldest inhabitants. During the Winter the
county was visited by that great religious excitement known as Millerism.
At the September term, 1843, of the County Commissioners' Court, the
Commissioners entered into contract with Benj. P. Cahoon, of Southport.
Wisconsin (nowr Kenosha), for building a court house The consideration was
the unsold lots and blocks in the original town plat of Little Fort, belonging to
the county ; said Cahoon agreeing to pay the amount of outstanding county
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
23a
orders on account of county land, and the balance due for county jail— the total
amount not to exceed $950.
The court house was completed in the Fall of 1844, in time for the Fall
term of the Circuit Court.
The election for county officers, in August, 1844, was the last of the con¬
test between the two county seat factions.
In 1844, a steam saw-mill was built at Lake Zurich. It was the first steam
-engine in the county applied to any kind of machinery.
On the 4th of March, 1845, the first number of a newspaper, entitled the
Little Fort Porcupine and Democratic Banner , was issued at Little Fort,
by N. W. Fuller as publisher, and A. B. Wynkoop as editor and proprietor.
This was the first newspaper published in the county. It continued about two
years, when its publication was suspended.
The Lake County Herald , by U. P. k S. M. Dowst, was the second news¬
paper in the county. Its publication was commenced in the Summer of 1845.
and was continued for one year only. It was Whig in its politics.
The Porcupine was succeeded in the Spring of 1847 by a paper entitled
the Lake County Visitor , N. W. Fuller, publisher, H. W. Blodgett, editor. It
was neutral in politics, and continued only about six months.
The Visitor was succeeded by the Lake County Chronicle , the publication ot
which was commenced about the 1st of October, 1847, by W. H. H. Tobey
k Co., publishers, A. B. Tobey, editor.
• During September, 1847, a murder was committed in the Goodale neigh-
hood, then called Fort Hill, which caused great excitement throughout the
county. In the morning, after a ball at Goodale’s Tavern, on the McHenry
road, in what is now the town of Grant, the lifeless body of one Silas Marble
was found in the barn-yard, a short distance from the house, in a mangled con¬
dition. Several large clubs near by showed that the death had been caused by
violence. Coroner Dorsett was notified and a jury summoned, who returned a
verdict that the death had been caused by violence, and that there was reason
to suspect that Joel B. Sherman, Jacob Sherman and Spencer Miller, living-
in the neighborhood of Fort Hill, were guilty of the murder. They were,
accordingly, on the following morning arrested and confined in jail. They
were subsequently brought, on a writ of habeas corpus , before Judge Dickey,
but were remanded, that the matter might have a further investigation at the
next Court, a special term of which was ordered to be held in the fore part of
December following, at which they were indicted for murder and put on trial.
They were ably defended by J. J. Brown, of Chicago, E. W. Hoyt and II. W.
Blodgett, of Waukegan, and John T. Clarke, of Antioch. The prosecution
was conducted by Wm. A. Boardman, State’s Attorney. After a protracted
trial, the accused were acquitted. It appeared from the evidence that the de¬
ceased was a young man whose occupation had been that of a peddler, traveling
on foot with tin trunks, and that in the afternoon of the harvest party he was
284
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
in the neighborhood of the Shermans, traveling in the direction of Goodale s.
He was accosted by one of them and invited to tarry awhile, when he could
ride up with them, as they intended going to the party themselves. He accord¬
ingly did so.
He was known to have arrived at Goodale’s in company with Miller and
Jacob Sherman, whilst they, in company with Joel B. Sherman, were known
to have returned without him. Marble was not seen in the house after about
10 o’clock in the evening. There was also a portion of the evening that
neither of the accused could give any satisfactory account of their whereabouts.
There were also some singular movements shown upon the part of the Shermans
during the evening, as well as some statements afterward, on the part of Miller,
which had a tendency to fasten suspicion pretty firmly upon them. But there
was not sufficient, it seems, to convict them.
This was the first prosecution for murder which occurred in Lake County.
The object of the murder is supposed to have been robbery, as the deceased was
known to have had with him a small sum of money, which was missing when his
body was found.
The subject of more efficient measures for the support of the poor of the
county in time became a matter of quite general discussion among the people.
The propriety of purchasing a farm in some central portion of the county, for the
retreat and support of the poor, was brought before the County Commissioners
for consideration. The members of the Board at this time were : Michael C.
McGuire, Alva Trowbridge and Charles Hall. At a special term of the County
Commissioners Court in October, 1847, a contract was entered into by the Com¬
missioners in behalf of the county, with Alva Trowbridge, one of their number,
for the purchase of his farm at Libertvville, containing about 190 acres, to be
held for the retreat and support of the poor, for the sum of $2,025, including
some articles of personal property, payable by installments, with interest on
deferred payments.
This plan of support of the poor was found to be more expensive than
had been anticipated. The purchase of the poor farm by the Commissioners
from a party who was one of their own number became the subject of much
criticism throughout the county, followed by a general demand from the people
for a sale of the farm. An Act of the Legislature was therefore obtained at
its session in 1851, submitting the question of each township supporting its
own poor, and authorizing the county to dispose of the 'poor farm , which
resulted in favor of township support. Whereupon, an order was made by the
Board of Supervisors to dispose of the farm, with the exception of about 40
acres upon which the buildings were situated, which remains the property of
the county, and is the present county poor farm.
To say that the conduct of the County Commisioners, in regard to the pur¬
chase of the poor farm, became a subject of much criticism, is perhaps stating
the case in milder terms than the facts will justify. The conduct of Mr. Trow-
SENIOR EDITOR
WAUKEGAN GAZETTE "
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
237
bridge was severely condemned, and the motives of Mr. McGuire were openlv
assailed as inspired by corruption.
In the Spring of 1849, commenced the gold mining excitement in Cali¬
fornia. Hundreds went from Lake County to try their fortunes in that far-off
region ; among the first of whom were George Allen Hibbard, Isaiah Marsh,
George Ferguson, D. H. Sherman, William and James Steele, and Jacob
Miller. Mr. Hibbard was a young man ; he left in the fall of 1848, being
the first adventurer in that direction from Lake County. He joined Col. Fre¬
mont’s expedition at St. Louis, and perished in a snow storm in the Rocky
Mountains.
In the Spring of 1848, the citizens of Waukegan commenced to agitate the
subject of constructing a plank road from that place westward to McHenry.
In December following, a company was organized and became incorporated,
styled the “Lake and McHenry Plank Road Association,” with authority to
construct a turnpike or plank causeway from Waukegan to the east line of Mc¬
Henry County, on the route of the Belvidere road. The first Directors were
John Gage, John A. Tyrrell, and Elmsley Sunderlin.
This company proceeded and constructed about 15 miles of plank road on
what is now the traveled road from Waukegan to McHenry. There were three
toll-gates on the road: one near the present city limits of Waukegan, one at
Gage’s Corners, and one at Hainesville. The experiment proved a failure, and
the road in a few years was abandoned. The tolls received were not sufficient to
keep it in repair.
About the 1st of August, 1849, the publication of a newspaper was com¬
menced at Waukegan, styled the Waukegan Free Democrat. John Henderson
was publisher, and N. W. Fuller, editor. It continued about six months.
At the general election in November, 1849, the question of adopting town¬
ship organization was submitted to a vote of the people. The vote was as fol¬
lows : For township organization, 1692 ; against it, 3.
The election being in favor of township organization, Col. J. Moulton,
Michael Dulanty and E. M. Haines were appointed Commissioners to divide
the county into towns. A division was made in accordance with the Congres¬
sional Townships of the county, except fractional Township 46, Range 9, which
was attached to the township on the east.
On the first Tuesday in April following (1850), the first town meeting was
held in each township in the county, at which the first town officers were
elected and the towns fully organized.
The first meeting of the Board of Supervisors was in special session, at the
Court House, in Waukegan, April 22, 1850. The following were the members
of the Board for the several towns: Harrison P. Nelson, from the town of
Antioch; John Gage, Avon; Harrison L. Putnam, Benton; Philetus Beverly,
Cuba; Caleb Cadwell, Deerfield ; Stephen Bennett, Ela; Hurlbut Swan, Fre¬
mont; Chester Hamilton, Goodale ; William Crane, Liberty ville ; John Reid,
n
238
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Newport; Michael C. McGuire, Shields ; James Moore, Vernon ; Peter Mills,
Wauconda ; H. Whitney, Warren; Jas. B. Gorton, Waukegan.
In October, 1850, Nathan C. Geer commenced the publication of theWau-
kegan Gazette, at Waukegan, which has been continued to the present time,
without interruption.
In 1851, a movement was commenced by several leading citizens of the
county for the formation of a society for the promotion and encouragement of
the interests of agriculture. For this purpose a public meeting was called and
held at the Court House in Waukegan, October 15, 1851. John Gage was
chosen Chairman, and Nathan C. Geer, Secretary. Whereupon it was resolved
to organize a county agricultural society. A constitution was adopted, and the
following persons enrolled as members : John Gage, Nathan C. Geer, R. H.
French, John Easton, Hurlbut Swan, B. C. Drury, Thos. H. Payne, Wm.
Easton, N. Vose, Geo. A. Drury, David Gilmore, H. P. Nelson, I. L. Clarke,
D. C. Steele, M. Hoffman, I. R. Webb, S. P. Stratton, L. G. Schenck, Leon¬
ard Gage, Jonathan Drury, Moses Esty, N. B. Crocker, 0. H. Risley, P. G.
Moulton, E. D. Ferry, J. C. Bloom, Joseph Wells, I. H. Smith, Daniel Mar¬
tin, E. W. Bull, John Robertson, Oran Ott, George Ela, Augustus Granger,
Andrew Cook, Dr, J. H. Foster, Philoman Cadwell, J. H. Payne, Elisha Grid-
ley, Levi Stafford, Edwin Cadwell, Samuel L. Wood, Alfred Wood, Sheldon.
Wood, J. S. Wheeler, T. D. Whitmore, Philip Blanchard, Dr. L. D. Gage,
Charles Webb, Charles Haynes, James Whitmore, A. S. Kellogg, James Camp¬
bell, A. 0. Swan, Asa Pratt, N. P. Dowst, S. M. Dowst, James Moore, J. H.
Swan, Lyman Field, Wm. C. Howrard, E. M. Haynes, Loyal Cadwell, R. Ik
White, H. M. Hutchinson, C. C. Parks, Philander Stewart, Melvin C. Hamil¬
ton, Chester Hamilton — in all 69 members.
On the same day, the members of the society proceeded and elected the
following officers for the ensuing year : John Gage, President ; H. P. Nelson,
John Easton, Vice Presidents ; Nathan C. Geer, Secretary ; S. M. Dowst,
Treasurer; Hurlbut Swan, Nelson Landon, Thos. H. Payne, Elisha Gridley,
Philoman Cadwell, Executive Committee.
The first county fair held under the direction of the society was held in
Waukegan, on Wednesday, September 22, 1852. The Treasurer’s report
shows the receipts and disbursements of the society for the first year to be as
follows : Amount received for membership, #77.50 ; received for admission fees
at the fair, #75 ; total receipts, #152.50. Expenses attending the fair, #66.59 ;
amount paid for premiums, #28 ; other expenses, #63.50 ; total expenses,
#158.09. The report of the Treasurer, in 1876, showed the receipts of the
society for the year preceding to be #910 ; amount paid for premiums, #586.31.
The officers for the present year — 1877 — are as follows : Edwin Wilson, Presi¬
dent ; Stebbins Ford, O. P. Putnam, Vice Presidents ; S. I. Bradbury, Secre¬
tary ; E. W. Parkhurst, Treasurer ; E. P. Phillips, Wm. Ragan, Albert Kapple.,
George Gridley, C. B. Easton, Executive Committee.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
239
In 1851, an act was passed to incorporate a company for constructing a
railroad from Chicago to the State line in the direction of Milwaukee by wav
of Waukegan. ’ y y
A company was organized under this act in 1852, and commenced the work
of building the road, the following summer, known as the Chicago & Milwau¬
kee Railroad. It was completed to Milwaukee in 1854, and is now one of the
lines of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, passing through the towns of
Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Forest and Waukegan. Several other lines
• of railroad have since been projected through the county, but none have suc¬
ceeded except a branch of the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, passing through
the town of Deerfield, and up the Aux Plaines River to the State line; except
also a branch of the Chicago & Northwestern, called the Wisconsin Branch,
which passes through the town of Cuba diagonally, in the southwestern
coinei of the county. This latter line of road, at the commencement of its
construction, was called the Illinois & Wisconsin Railroad. The name was
afterward changed to the Chicago, St, Paul & Fond du Lac Railroad. The
company became re-organized under the management of Wm. B. Ogden, one
of the principal stockholders, and the name was changed to the Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad. For some time thereafter it was the main line of that
now extensive combination of railroad lines known as the Chicago & North¬
western Railway.
The construction of the line of railroad known as the Milwaukee <fc St.
Paul Railroad, before mentioned, was commenced in 1872, and completed so
that trains commenced running in January, 1873. The stations on the line of
this road in Lake County are as follows : Deerfield and Lancaster, in the town¬
ship of Deerfield ; Libertyville, in the township of that name ; Warrenton and
Gurnee, in the township of Warren; Wadsworth and Russell, in the township
of Newport.
At all stations where agents are in charge, there are telegraph and express
offices, usually operated by the station agents, and a large amount of general
business is done.
The passenger business and freight traffic on this line of road, between
Chicago and Milwaukee, has grown to quite large proportions, as will appear
from the following statistics, taken from the report of the business done at the
stations in Lake County named below, for the space of one year :
WADSWORTH STATION.
Receipts for the year ending August 31, 1877 :
For Freight . $1,450 96
For Tickets . 1,673 85
For Express . 425 ]Q
Total . . . $3,549 91
Forwarded Freight, 2,155,280 lbs.
Charges on Express forwarded, $1,028.50.
240
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
DEERFIELD STATION.
Receipts for the year ending August 31, 1877 :
For Freight received . . 67
For Freight forwarded .
For Tickets . 1,010 10
Total . . 43
The total weight of freight for 1877 was 2,991,822 pounds.
The total of business for 1876 was $2,929.28 ; showing an increase for the year 1877 of
$751.15.
When it is remembered that these are new places — points which had no
particular existence before the railroad was built — it must be acknowledged that
the showing is excellent, and may be taken as a fair augury of what these sta¬
tions and others along the line will be in the course of time. They are situated
in the midst of as excellent a farming country as there is in the Northwest, and
are surrounded by intelligent and enterprising communities.
In regard to the business of the Chicago k Northwestern Railway in Lake
County, the following statement, compiled from the best information that can
be obtained, shows the passenger business from following stations for fiscal
year ending May 31, 1877.
No. Passengers
Highland Park . 21,518
Lake Forest . 21,184
Rockland . 940
Waukegan . 28,906
State Line . 688
Amount.
$ 7,016 27
7,828 55
437 31
17,989 60
507 28
No. Passengers. Amount.
Ravinia . 690 13 < 05
Highwood . 2,870 680 40
Glen Flora . 60 28 55
Benton . 215 92 00
The newspapers of Lake County, up to the present time, in addition to
those already mentioned, all of which were published in aukegan, are a> fol¬
lows : The Freeman's Advocate , by John Gentzel, which commenced in Feb¬
ruary, 1854, and continued about a year, when it was sold to S. I. Bradbury
and E. S. Ingalls, who had about the same time also purchased the Lake County
Chronicle. They combined these two papers together under the title of the
Chronicle and Advocate , which name was afterward changed to the Indepen¬
dent Democrat. The publication of this paper was suspended about the begin¬
ning of the year 1857.
In 1856, the publication of a paper was commenced, called the Northwest-
ern Orient , by J. C. Smith and Ira Porter, as editors, and J. N. Brundage, as
publisher. This was succeeded by a paper called the Excelsior , by the same
parties. This paper, after a time, was discontinued, and in January, 1859, the
publication of a paper was commenced by Fuller k: Bailey, entitled the Lake
County Citizen. Mr. Fuller was the same person who was editor of the Po/cu-
pine , established, as has been stated, in 1845. The publication of this paper
was continued for about a year, when it was suspended, and a paper was staited
by S. I. Bradbury, called the Lake County Democrat , which was continued
until about the 1st of June, 1861, when it was suspended. Its publication was
resumed by Mr. Bradbury, in 1866, under the title of the Lake County Patriot ,
the publication of which is still continued.
HISTORY OF I>AKE COUNTY.
241
TOWNSHIP OF ANTIOCH.
'rac-
This town is composed of Township 46, north Range 10 east, and that part
of Township 46, north Range 9, lying on the west, belonging to Lake County
being four miles in width, making the whole length of the town 10 miles bv 6
in width. ’ J
The first permanent claims of Government lands made in this town were
made in the month of December, 1836, by D. B. Gage, Thomas Q. Gage and
Thomas Warner. The first house built within the limits of the town was built
in April, 1837, by D. B. and Thomas Q. Gage, on the north side of the creek
in the present village of Antioch. The second was built by Thomas Warner
near Loon Lake, in the month of June of the same year. These persons had
located themselves temporarily at Walker’s bridge, on th<* Des Plaines River in
Cook County. In December, 1836, they followed up th% river on an Indian
trail, to Mill Creek, from whence they proceeded westward tt Loon Lake where
they made a claim and put up a log cabin, from whence, after a few days, they
proceeded on their return, by way of the Maquonago trail, which was a trail
diverging from the great Milwaukee trail at a point near the mouth 0f Indian
Creek, where formerly had been an Indian village, and running from *hence
northwesterly to an Indian village in Wisconsin, called Maquonago.
Being late in December, the weather had become severely cold and boister¬
ous. They found the trail much obstructed by fallen trees, and, being unac¬
quainted with the route, their progress was slow, in consequence of which they
came near freezing to death, but finally succeeded in reaching the house of
Willard Jones, at Jones’ Point, about thirteen miles from Loon Lake.
The early settlers of this town were D. B. Gage, Thomas Warner, Thomas
Q. Gage, Henry Rector, William Fagher, Robert Stalker, E. F. Ingalls, Loami
Piersons, E. S. Ingalls, H. P. Nelson, H. Nichols, Charles 0. McClellen, F.
F. Munson, Parnell Munson, Leland Cook and Hiram Butrick.
The first town meeting held in this town under township organization was
held on the first Tuesday in April, 1850, at the tavern of D. B. Gage, in the
village of Antioch. Dr. L. D. Gage was chosen Moderator, and Eli S. Derby,
Clerk. The following is a list of the town officers elected at this meeting: Har¬
rison P. Nelson, Supervisor; Eli Gage, Town Clerk; Thomas Webb, Assessor ;
John H. Elliott, Collector ; Chas. AVebb and Robert K. Colls, Justices of the
Peace ; Ira Webb, A. B. Paddock and E. C. Stephens, Commissioners of High¬
ways ; Robert Pollock, Overseer of Poor; John H. Elliott and Albert Webb,
Constables. The number of votes cast at this town meeting was 145.
The assessed value of property in this town for 1850, including both real
and personal, was $88,904. The amount of tax on the same for all purposes
was $1,744.51.
The total assessed value of property for the year 1877 is $399,484.
i
242 HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
village of Antioch, in this township, acquired considerable local noto-
Re5pthe beginning, from the numerous attempts made to adopt a name. In
^/northern part of the township is a small stream flowing from the lakes on
the east, westward into Fox River. Darius and Thomas Gage, as before men¬
tioned, built their houses near this creek, at the crossing of the Maquonago
trail, and named it Sequoit Creek. They were attracted here on account of the
mill site the stream apparently afforded at this point. A saw-mill was soon
after built here by Hiram Butrick (1839). This, with other inducements, drew
into the vicinity mechanics of various kinds, the first being Eleazer F. Ingalls,
blacksmith. The first store of goods was opened by F. F. Munson. The place
finally taking rank as a village, an attempt was made to agree upon a name.
It was situated in what wars then called Bristol Precinct. It was therefore pro¬
posed to call the village by that name, but without effect. Among the first
settlers — prominent among whom was Wm. F. Shepard — a large proportion
belonged to the sect of Religionists called Christians, or Disciples, otherwise
known as Campbellites, who were generally very zealous in church matters.
Whereupon the wags of the neighborhood who were not of this church, rather
in a spirit of ridicule, suggested various Scripture names for the place. Among
them Jericho and Joppa. Finally, during a general assembly of the church at
that place, it was agreed to take the suggestion of their mischievous neighbors
and adopt a Scripture name, and that it should be Antioch — the place where
the Disciples were first called Christians. A general acquiescence followed, and
the place became known by that name.
In 1846, a Post Office was established here, called Antioch, and Doctor
Leroy D. Gage appointed Postmaster.
When the present town was laid off for township organization, in January,
1850, the inhabitants were called upon by the Commissioners to express their
wishes as to the name. At a meeting for that purpose, Antioch and Windsor
were proposed. The former received a majority of the votes cast, and the
town was so named.
The villages in this township are Antioch and Millburn.
The village of Antioch is not incorporated, and therefore has no fixed
boundaries. The population of wdiat is properly considered the village is about
two|hundred.
Millburn is situated in the southeast part of the township, near the north
branch of Mill Creek, on the line between Antioch and Newport, a portion of
the village lying in Newport. The country about here was known in early
days as the Mill Creek Settlement. The place where Millburn now is was
known as Strang’s neighborhood. A Post Office was established here in
February, 1848, and Robert Strang appointed Postmaster. It wTas called
Millburn, as the Scotch word, it is said, for Mill Creek, Mr. Strang and
most of his neighbors — by whom the name was suggested — being of that
nationality.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
243
The first school taught in Antioch was by Welcome Jilson, in 1843. It
was in a room over the store of F. F. Munson, at Antioch Village.
Antioch, like most other towns of the county, has had its marked charac¬
ters who are remembered for the part they have borne or places they filled in
its early history. Daniel Head, who settled in Antioch and opened a store of
goods there about the year 1843, was of this class. He continued to increase
his stock from year to year, and soon built up a large and profitable business.
He made the place the center of trade for the country around for a distance of
ten to fifteen miles. Everybody knew Dan Head, as he was generally called.
Everybody traded at his store. Indeed, there was no reason why they should
not, for he gave credit to every one who applied, almost without distinction or
lefeience to their pecuniary standing. He sold his goods at a large profit, and
generally obtained his pay in the end. The result was he made money, and
became rich. He was a man of generous impulses, and never oppressed his
debtors. He afterward removed to Kenosha to engage in wider fields of opera¬
tion, where he still resides as one of the wealthy and substantial men of the
place.
John T. Clark was another marked character of this town in early days, but
whose name has, at this time, been nearly forgotton. He was a lawyer bv pro¬
fession, and settled in Antioch Village about the year 1844. He first came
into notice as a lawyer, in that vicinity, in the trial of a suit before a Justice
of the Peace, just over the State line, in Wisconsin, a short time previous to
settling in Antioch. At the time of this occurrence, as the story goes, he was
working in the harvest field as a common hand, coarsely clad, and a stranger
in the neighborhood. On hearing that a contested law-suit was about to take
place in the vicinity, he w’as heard to remark that lie was a lawyer himself,
stating that he studied law in the office of Judge Flandreau, who was an emi¬
nent lawyer of Utica, N. Y. The result was that he became employed by the
defendant to attend to the case on his behalf. He managed the suit with so
much vigor and earnestness, and assumed such great knowledge of the law,
there being no one present able to dispute his assertions, that he gained a de¬
cision of the case in favor of his client. Thereupon his fame spread over the
country to a great distance around as “a very smart lawyer ” just from the East,
who had studied law with Judge Flandreau. He was invited by Daniel Head
and others to come and settle in Antioch and devote himself to his profession,
which he did, it being the only village or center of trade in that part of the
country.
On one occasion, Clark was employed to go down and attend a law-suit be¬
fore Levi Marble, a Justice of the Peace at Fort Hill, where his fame had
preceded him. His library consisted of the Statutes of Illinois, Cowen’s
Treatise, and a copy of Oilman’s Digest of the Reports of Indiana and Illinois.
These he carried with him tied up in a piece of common white cotton cloth,
making a package of convenient size to carry in his hand, by taking hold of
244
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
the knot where the ends were tied. In those days, the country being sparsely
settled, the roads were not very plainly marked, whereby Clark, when near
Squaw Creek, lost his way. The hour for the trial of his cause was approach¬
ing and he was in much trouble. He hastened to a house in sight, being that
of Elisha Andrews, to enquire the way. He knocked at the door hastily,
which was answered by the voice of Mrs. Andrews, “ come in.” He opened
the door hurriedly and in a breathless manner proceeded, “ Madam, can you
tell me the way to ’Squire Marble’s?” Mrs. Andrews, who was an honest-
hearted and rather unsophisticated woman, noticing the peculiar package which
he carried in his hand, mistook him for a peddler, and without answering his en¬
quiry, responded, “lam so glad to see a peddler coming ; I have been out of
thread for this two weeks.” Without apparently noticing her remark, Clark
in an impatient tone repeated his enquiry. But Mrs. Andrews, who had suf¬
fered inconvenience so long for want of thread, and not wishing to lose an op¬
portunity of supplying herself, without heeding Clark’s enquiry, rejoined,
“ Have you got any spool thread, number sixty ? ” Clark saw, much to his
chagrin, that the woman’s impression as to his calling was fixed, and that he
had no way out of it but to frankly inform her of her mistake ; says he,
44 Madam, I am not a peddler ; I am a lawyer from Antioch ; I am going to
Esquire Marble’s to attend to a law-suit ; I am behind time and want to get
there as soon as possible ; can you tell me the way?” Mrs. Andrews, after ex¬
pressing her regret that he was not a peddler, stepped to the door and pointed
out the way.
With all his self-assurance in conducting a law-suit, Clark was a man of a
sensitive nature. He wTas sedate and candid in his demeanor and could never
enjoy nor indulge in a joke, especially at his own expense. This occurrence
mistaking him for a peddler — becoming generally known, gave him much annoy¬
ance, the more so for occurring, as it did, in a neighborhood where his fame
had reached as a 44 smart lawyer.”
The first religious meeting in the town w*as in the summer of 1839, in the
newly finished barn of Darius B. Gage, in the village of Antioch, being then
the only building in that part of the country of capacity sufficient for a public
meeting. It wTas conducted by two Elders of the Christian Church, named
Young and Davenport, from Kentucky. At this meeting, a church organiza¬
tion wras formed, consisting of about fifty members.
A Baptist Church was organized in the village about the year 1862, with
about twenty-five members, Rev. Mr. Stimpson, Pastor. A house of worship
was built during this year.
A house of worship was built by the Christian Church organization, in 1863.
This church has now about one hundred members. Elder T. Johnson is the
present preacher.
In Antioch Township, aside the village, are now the following churches and
church organizations:
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
245
The First Congregational Church, of Millburn, organized in September.
1841, by Rev. Flavel Bascom, acting at the time as agent of the American
Home Missionary Society.
The following persons constituted the original members : William Abbott,
Mark Pitman, Jr., Merrill Pearson, Robert Pollock, George Trotter, Samuel M.
Dowst, Alexander Kennedy, Eliza F. B. Abbott, Harriet Pitman, Lydia Pear¬
son, Elizabeth Pollock, Jane Trotter, Mary Thayer, Abigail Berry. Samuel M.
Dowst was chosen Deacon and Clerk. Rev. E. G. Howe supplied the congre¬
gation as Pastor, a part of the time, for two years from that date. He was suc¬
ceeded by Rev. Lucius Parker, who supplied the congregation until July, 1844.
At that time, Rev. William B. Dodge commenced to supply, and, at the close
of a year, received a call to become their pastor, which he accepted on condi¬
tion that a house of worship should be built before he was installed, which was
accordingly done. On the first of June, 1847, the house was dedicated, and
Mr. Dodge was installed as Pastor. He continued in that relation until De¬
cember, 1862, when, at his own request, he was relieved. Rev. Calvin Selden
Supplied from January, 1863, until May, 1864, when he was succeeded by Rev.
H. Bross as Pastor. He has recently been succeeded by Rev. Mr. Bingham,
w’ho is the present Pastor.
Under the ministry of their Pastor, Rev. Wm. B. Dodge, the membership
of the church was increased from sixteen to seventy-two, and now numbers
about one hundred members.
. The first church building or house of worship was built in what is now the
village of Millburn, in the Township of Antioch, but near the line of Newport;
the members residing in the four towns of Antioch, Newport, Warren and
Avon. The present house of worship was built in 1866, and opened for public
worship on the first Sabbath in 1877. Rev. W. B. Dodge, generally known as
“Father Dodge,” was one of the landmarks in the history of the Protestant
Church in Lake County. He was also active in the Anti-Slavery movement,
and noted for his zeal in the Anti-Slavery cause. He died a few years since,
at his home in Millburn, respected by all who knew him.
TOWNSHIP OF AVON.
This town, as a Congressional Township, is known as Township 45, north
Range 10, east of the 3d P. M. The first claim of Government land made in
this town was by a man by the name of Taylor, in the Summer of 1835, on the
north side of the lake, since known as Taylor’s Lake. He built a log cabin
during that year, in the edge of the woods, south of the site of the present
school house at Avon Centre, and commenced the work of a more commodious
log dwelling. He left in the Fall of that year, and never returned, but con¬
tinued to hold his claim until 1837, when he sold it to Leonard Gage.
246
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
The early settlers of this township were Noer Potter and sons, Churchill
Edwards, Delazan E. Haines, Harley H. Hendee, David Hendee, David Rich,
Levi Marble, George Thompson, Thomas Renehan, Leonard Gage, Thomas
Welsh, A. F. Miltimore, Lawrence Forvor, Freeman Bridge, Nathaniel King
and William Gray.
Gray’s Lake takes its name from William Gray, who settled at an early day
on the south side of the lake. That chain of lakes, sometimes called First,
Second, Third and Fourth Lakes, were originally known as Gage’s Lakes,
from Leonard and George Gage, who were the first settlers in the vicinity,
near the present east line of the town.
The first school house in this town was a log building, of hewn logs, and
built by contribution of the inhabitants, in the southwest corner of the town,
about the year 1841, on the present McHenry road, at the crossing of the north
and south road on the quarter section line, which became known as the Marble
School House, from Levi Marble, who lived near by immediately on the west.
The first school in town was taught in this building. It is believed that a Mrs.
Hankins was the first teacher.
The old building has been superseded by the present frame structure, stand¬
ing on the same site.
The first Post Office in this town was the Fort Hill Post Office. It was origi¬
nally established in what is now the town of Fremont. About 1840, it was
removed to the house of Levi Marble, in the southwest corner of the town, who
was appointed Postmaster.
In February, 1846, a Post Office was established at Hainesville, under that
name, and Elijah M. Haines appointed Postmaster. In the Spring following,
Mr. Haines, the original proprietor of the land, laid out and recorded the town
plat of Hainesville.
About the year 1850, a saw-mill was built on Squaw Creek, in the
western part of the town, by Nahum White, which was in successful opera¬
tion for many years.
In deciding upon a name for this township there was a spirited contest. A
petition numerously signed by inhabitants of the township was presented to
the Commissioners having the matter in charge, asking that the name of the
town should be Hainesville. To this a remonstrance was filed by Freeman
Bridge, Leonard Gage, George Thompson and Samuel L. Emery, who pro¬
posed the name of Eureka, whereupon the matter was referred to the inhabitants
of the township for a further expression of their wishes, when, at a meeting
held Jan. 21, 1850, at the school house near Leonard Gage’s, mrw Avon Centre.
Avon was proposed and agreed to as the name of the town. It was according¬
ly so named by the Commissioners.
At the session of the Legislature of 1846-7, an act was passed incorporat¬
ing the village of Hainesville. In the Spring following, it became organized by
virtue of said act, as a town corporate, being the first village incorporated in
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
247
Lake County. The act of incorporation provided, among other things, that no
road should be established within the limits of the town corporate, without the
concurrence of the Board of Trustees thereof. There were rival points both
on the east and west on the same line of road. The endeavor of those places
was to effect a vacation of the road passing through Hainesville, and locate it
further south, and thereby destroy the place. The real object of the incorpora¬
tion of this place was to obtain the power to prevent the design of its enemies
from being carried into effect, which succeeded, and the place continued undis¬
turbed. Indeed, the rivals in question in time disappeared.
Hainesville is at the present time a flourishing village of about two hun¬
dred inhabitants. It has two stores and various kinds of mechanics found in a
country village. The inhabitants have manifested their public spirit by the
erection, recently, of a commodious building, having a publich all fitted up for
public assemblies and entertainments.
In the northwestern part of this township is a small village called Mona-
ville. It was originally called Barnes’ Corners, taking the name of an early
settler at that point. There is a Post Office here, called Fox Lake, and it is a
point of considerable trade.
Among the incidents in the early history of this township, which may
properly be noted here, is one which occurred in the Winter of 1843, known as
the cold winter, during what is known as the great Millerite excitement. It
had been proclaimed by Mr. Miller that according to the prophecies of the
Scriptures, as he had computed the time, the world was to come to an end on a
given day in March, 1843. The only building in the country for some distance
around suitable for holding public meetings was the school house known as
Marble s School House, hereinbefore mentioned. During this excitement, relig¬
ious meetings were held in this school house almost nightly. During the time
of these meetings a hen’s egg was taken from a nest, with others, on the prem¬
ises of Chauncey King, in the neighborhood of the place of the meetings,
upon which was this inscription in raised letters of the same composition as the
shell: “ Time ends 1843.” This strange phenomenon was the cause of much
excitement and alarm in the neighborhood, and became the subject of quite a
discussion at one of the evening meetings, at which it had been produced by
Mr. King. Many seemed ready to receive it as one of the “signs of the
times,” and conceded it was a forerunner of the end of time and the destruction
of the world. No one present could account for the manner in which these
letters had been caused to appear upon it. At length it was suggested by a
person present, who seemed to possess rather more sagacity than the balance of
the audience, that in his opinion the inscription was a matter of art and noth¬
ing more; that he believed he could himself prepare an egg upon which the
letters would appear in the same manner ; and on his return home would make
the trial, and if he succeeded, he would produce it at the meeting on the follow¬
ing evening.
248
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
He accordingly made the experiment as agreed. The words “ Repent and
be Baptized” were marked with oil upon the shell. The egg was then put
into strong vinegar, when, after remaining a time, the surface of the shell was
found to be decomposing, but the acid had no effect upon that portion where
the oil had been applied, consequently it left the form of the letters perfect —
raised out from the shell in such a manner as to give the appearance of being
so formed in nature. This, on being presented to the meeting, needed no
explanation or comment. The humbug was exploded, to the chagrin of very
many who had believed in it.
The exhibition of this egg produced such an effect upon the mind of an old
man in the neighborhood that he hastened home to prepare for the event which
he declared he was satisfied was near at hand. He had been for some time in
difficulty with several of his neighbors, all of whom he summoned to his house
and confessed his wrong to them, adding that his life had been one of trans¬
gression — which no one could dispute — adding that he desired to make suitable
amends as far as he could during the short period that he would be allowed to
remain on earth. He asked them to state terms of adjustment, to which he
would accede. Settlements were effected except in one instance, which was
postponed to a day fixed for the presence and concurrence of an absent party.
But before that day arrived, eggs with like prophetic inscriptions became com¬
mon in the neighborhood, whereby it was disclosed that the letters were
produced by artificial means, as before stated. At the appointed time, however,
the aggrieved party appeared according to understanding. As soon as they
entered the house, the old man sprang toward them, and with much earnestness,
shaking his fist in that direction, said: “That egg business is all a consummate
humbug, and I’ll have nothing to do with you or your settlement ; get out of
my house or I’ll sue you for trespass.”
Levi Marble was the first Justice of the Peace who served in what is now
the town of Avon. He was first elected in 1839, and continued in office by
re-election without interruption for about thirty years.
George Thompson, who was his near neighbor, where he still resides, was
the advocate for suitors in Justice Marble’s court from the time of his first
election while he continued in office, and still continues as the local practi¬
tioner at the bar in that vicinity.
The first town meeting in this town was convened at the hotel in the village
of Hainesville, on the first Tuesday in April, 1850. Nahum White was chosen
Moderator, and Leonard Gage, Clerk, at which the following persons were
elected town officers : John Gage, Supervisor ; Orville Slusser, Town Clerk ;
James Kapple, Overseer of Poor ; Caleb Arnold, Loonard Gage and Robert
Carroll, Commissioners of Highways; Levi Marble and W. B. Dodge, Justices
of the Peace; John Salisbury, Collector; John Salisbury and Robert D. Gordon,
Constables ; Freeman Bridge, Assessor. The number of votes cast at this town
meeting was 128.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
249
The assessed value of property n this town for 1850, including both real and
personal, was $80,266.00. The amount of tax on the same was $1,037.23.
The total assessed value of real and personal property of the town for the
year 1877 is $304,934.
The first minister of the Gospel who settled in this township was Rev.
James Kapple, a Congregationalist, who came in the Summer of 1842, and
settled on what was afterward the McHenry road, on the east of George Thomp¬
son’s. There was no congregation or society of that denomination in the town,
hut he preached in the school houses in different parts of the town, whenever
and wherever an audience would come together. He usually preached at the
Marble School House and at Hainesville. He was liberal as to his religious
views, and everybody wTent to hear him preach out of personal respect.
A church of the Disciples of Christ, otherwise called Campbellites, was
organized in this town, at Marble School House, January 12, 1850; J. L. Cor-
rell and A. R. Knox were elected Elders, J. L. Correll being designated as
preacher. There were fifteen persons who united with the church at their or¬
ganization, as follows: J. L. Correll and Mary J., his wife; A. R. Knox and
Augusta J., his wife; Chester Hamilton and wife, Dayton Gilbert and wife,
Wm. Dalzell and wife, Nahum White and wife, Abner Marble and wife, James
Wickham and wife, Samuel Waldo and Otis Marble. In December, 1853,
the church numbered forty-one members, many of whom have since died. In
the next three years there were forty-three added to the church, and the num¬
ber added continued to increase from year to year thereafter.
In 1866, a church edifice or house of worship was built at the four corners
of the roads north of Squaw Creek, near Nahum White’s. It is thirty-two by
fifty feet, with gallery, and will seat about four hundred persons ; it cost about
$3,000. The present preacher is Elder Joseph Owen. The church at this
time is said to be in a prosperous condition. They have meetings once in two
weeks, and good congregations. Elder Owen is doing much by example, as
well as by preaching.
In 1850, the Methodists met at the school house at Gray's Lake, under the
direction of Rev. Francis Reed, and formed a class of fourteen members. They
have continued to increase in numbers, and have held service from year to year
at the various school houses in the town until 1876, when a fine house of
worship was built on the Antioch road, near Lozell Monger's.
The following are the names of the first members of the class formed as
aforesaid : Rebecca Vandemark, Nancy Whitney, D. C. Lewis, Abigail Lewis,
Laura A. Lewis, S. E. Vandemark, Henry Vandemark, Mary Vandemark,
Lorenzo Adams, Chloe Adams, Lydia Lindsey, Minerva Dimmick, O. II. Craw¬
ford, Lucinda Crawford.
250
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
TOWNSHIP OF BENTON.
This, as a Congressional township, is Fractional Township 46, north Range
12 east, and is the northeast township in the county.
The early settlers of this township were Nelson Landon, Jeremiah Stowell,
Hanson Minsky, Henry I. Paddock, Philo Paddock, Jeremiah Porter, John R.
Nichols, Chester Butterfield, Samuel P. Ransom, Rev. Salmon Stebbins, Ed¬
ward Putnam, Sr., and Oren Jerome. Nelson Landon was the first settler
and built the first house in what is now the town of Benton. He came in the
Fall of 1835, and built a habitation on the ridge about a mile south of the
State line, on land which he still owns. Mrs. Landon was the first white
woman that came into the town as an inhabitant.
As an instance showing the price of provisions at that day, Mr. Landon
states that during the Winter of 1835-6, he paid the following prices : For
flour, §35 per barrel; for pork, §25 per barrel : for butter, 50 cents per pound ;
for potatoes, §3.50 per bushel ; and for other articles of provisions, in pro¬
portion.
The name of Benton wai given to this town in honor of Thomas H. Ben¬
ton, at that day one of the leading statesmen of the Union. No formal expres¬
sion of the inhabitants, as to the name of the town, was called for by the Com¬
missioners having the matter of laying off and naming the towns in charge.
Col. Moulton, one of the Commissioners who resided in the town, suggested
the name of Benton, and stated that it would be satisfactory to the inhabitants,
and it was adopted by the Commissioners as the name of the town.
The town of Benton is a district of country not very prolific in historical
events. It is strictly a rural town. It has no village in it, nor collection of
houses that may be called such ; nor has it a store, tavern, grocery or public
building of any kind within its limits, save its churches and school houses.
Some thirty years ago, there was a tavern in the western part of the town, kept
»
by Ezra Newell, at the forks of the Milwaukee road, about two miles north of
the town line. Probably but few persons now living remember this fact.
In the progress of its history, this town has had its noted and prominent
characters, some of whom demand here a passing notice. Nelson Landon, who
has been mentioned as the first settler in the town, who became one of the wealth¬
iest men in the county, was for several years prominent as a County Commis¬
sioner, and as a leading spirit in the removal of the county seat to Little Fort.
To him the credit of success in this movement is largely due.
Capt. Morris Robinson, who has been mentioned as prominent in the removal
of the county seat, wTas in early days an inhabitant of this town. He was a
marked man, and a person of much native capacity. In point of intellect, he
was a sort of “ rough diamond,’’ but without much moral culture. He was a
sailor by profession. In 1835, he was Captain of a schooner called the “ Hiram,5'
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
251
which that year brought lumber and other freight to Kenosha, Wis., then called
Pike Creek. About the same time, or perhaps the next year, he landed lumber
at a place called Boughton’s Landing, near the State line, some six or eight
miles south of Pike Creek. He was put forward by Elmsley Sunderlin and
other leaders in the county seat question to work up public sentiment in favor
of Little Fort, and to devise plans of operation to effect the removal to that
place. He proved equal to the emergency, and sustained his reputation as a
man of sagacity and ability. He claimed, however, in after years, that his
labors were never rewarded, and died disheartened— cursing those whom he
alleged had been faithless to their engagements.
Henry I. Paddock, who is mentioned as one of the early settlers in this
town, was noted for his eccentricities. He never filled any public position, but
was generally out on public occasions, and attracted attention for his oddity and
native wit. He was a man without education ; of a genial and humorous
nature ; a kind-hearted neighbor, and a true friend. He was noted as a horse-
trader, in which he excelled from his excellent judgment in horses. His wife,
whose name was Rachel, was a woman of strong mind and considerable ambi¬
tion. In some respects, she was perhaps his superior. In most matters of
business, he submitted to her opinions. Whenever she interposed, so much
so that it became a matter of general remark in the neighborhood; this, in¬
stead of being a source of humiliation, he seemed rather to enjoy ; at least
he accepted the situation. In his intercourse with others, his manner was
jovial and humorous, and whatever the occasion, in referring to himself, or in
advancing an opinion, he would style himself “ Rachel,” or give it as the
opinion of Rachel.
The first town meeting in this town was held on the first Tuesday in April,
1850, at the school house near B. T. Cook s. , Chester Butterfield was chosen
Moderator, and A. Q. D. Beach, Clerk. The first town officers elected were as
follows: For Supervisor, H. L. Putnam; Town Clerk, A. Q. D. Leach;
Assessor, Calvin Truesdell ; Collector, C. Burlington ; Commissioners of High-
ways, J. M. Moore, J. W. Bacon, C. Butler ; Overseer of the Poor, Chester
Butterfield ; Justices of the Peace, E. H. Ellis and L. W. Bull ; Constables,
A. Gr. Buell and P. H. Paddock. The number of votes cast at this town meet¬
ing was 86.
The total assessed valuation of property in this town, for the year 1850,
including both real and personal, was $81,711. The amount of tax computed
on the same was $1,234.10. The total assessed valuation of property in the
town for the year 1877 was $251,800.
The first school taught in this town was at the house of Rev. Salmon Steb-
bins, on the Milwaukee road, a short distance north of Newell’s tavern, before
mentioned, in the year 1840, by Miss Emily Stebbins. The expense was borne
by the patrons of the school, as was the case with all other schools in the county
in early days.
252
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
The first post office in this town was called Otsego. It was originally estab¬
lished at what is known as the Yew York House, then a public house kept by
Jeremiah Porter, in what is now the township of Waukegan. Mr. Porter was
from Otsego County in the State of Yew York, and when this post office was
established, he, having the privilege of giving its name, gave it the name of
Otsego in remembrance of the county from which he had emigrated. The office
was afterward removed into the town of Benton. This was the only post office
in the county east of the Aux Plaines River, until that established at Little Fort
in 1841. It was on the stage road from Chicago to Milwaukee as then traveled.
In May, 1851, a post office was established on the Sand Ridge road, in the east
part of the town, called Wellington, and Peter Lown appointed Postmaster.
This road had then become the stage route from Chicago to Milwaukee. After
the county seat was located at Little Fort, the route of this stage line, which had
formerly run by way of the Yew York House and thence by way of South Port
(now Kenosha), was changed to run by Little Fort, to supply the mail at that
place.
The Otsego and Wellington post offices were discontinued several years since.
A post office has lately been established on the railroad at the State line station
called Spring Bluff, being now the only post office in town.
The first school house built in the town was a log building, on or near the
site of what was afterward known as Howe's School House. It was built, as
were all the school houses in the county in early davs, by contribution of the
inhabitants. It was erected about the year 1841.
Rev. Salmon Stebbins was the first minister of the Gospel who settled and
preached in this town. He was of the Methodist denomination, and came in
1837. He was a marked man, and a preacher of great power. He was one
of the pioneer ministers in the Methodist Episcopal Church in Yorthern Illi¬
nois, traveling and extending his labors over a large district of country. In
those days church edifices were rare ; the religious meetings were generally
held in school houses, indeed, every school house was occupied as a house of
worship. School houses, even, for many years were few and far between, all
being built by private subscription. It was the custom of Elder Stebbins, in
traveling over the country from point to point, whenever he came to a school
house to stop in the neighborhood and invite the inhabitants to assemble and
listen to a discourse. Preaching being rare, and the Elder being a man of
impressive manner, he scarcely ever failed to obtain an audience. The Elder
is still living, at an advanced age, in the enjoyment of health, at a place called
Pikeville, in the southern part of Kenosha County, Mis., near the State line.
The first religious organization in this town was the formation of a class by
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at the house of Rev. Samuel
Stebbins, in the year 1838, under his direction.
In 1842, the membership had increased to about one hundred, out of which,
about the beginning of the year 1843, three classes were formed. This divi-
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LAKE COUNTT PATRIOT'
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY
255
sion of the class was agreed to and arranged at a meeting at the school house
heretofore mentioned, being the usual place of holding their meetings. The
classes thus formed were located for public worship as follows: One at North
Prairie, one at the school house on the Sand Ridge, called Dickertown, while
the third remained at their usual place of holding meetings.
During the Millerite excitement in the Winter of 1842-3, the school house
before mentioned was constantly occupied for religious meetings. It was the
center of this great excitement in Lake County. The audience increased to
that extent that it was found necessary to enlarge the building for the accom¬
modation of the increased number of attendants.
A Baptist Church was afterward organized, and held meetings in this build¬
ing. In 1849, the congregation built a house of worship in the vicinity, being
the first church edifice built in the town.
In 1868, the Methodists built a house of worship on the Sand Ridge at
Dickertown, and another at North Prairie in 1870.
TOWNSHIP OF CUBA.
This town lies in the southwest corner of the county, and is bounded on
the north by Wauconda, on the east by Ela, on the south by Cook County, and
on the west by McHenry County. It is one of those fractional townships upon
the west line of the county, being one only four miles in width, and six miles
in length. It is watered by Fox River and Flint Creek, and several small
rivulets, besides one or two small ponds. Flint Creek takes its name from
Amos Flint, one of the early settlers of this township, who settled upon the
banks of this stream.
As a Congressional Township, it is numbered Township 43, North Range 4
East. The early settlers of this town were Olcott A. White, Joshua A. Harn-
don, John Aylesworth, Y. H. Freeman, Amos Flint, L. H. Bute, Robert
Conmee, Robert Bennet, Jared Comstock and Freeman Martin. Amos Flint
was the first settler, and built the first house in what is now the town of Cuba,
in the latter part of the year 1834, as is said. It was on Section 10, on Flint
Creek, which takes its name from him, as before stated, near where the
stream empties into Fox River. The route of travel for the army and
those connected with the military and Indian service, from Chicago to Fort
Winnebago in Wisconsin, in early days, about 1831, passed through or near the
southwest portion of this town, crossing Fox River above what is now Algon¬
quin, and near what was afterward Denney’s Ferry.
Mrs. J. H. Kinzie, in her book entitled Wau-bun, or the Early Day in the
Northwest, gives an interesting account of a trip over this route, from Chicago
to Fort Winnebago, with her husband and members of their family and guides,
in the Summer of 1831. Mr. Kinzie was at this time the Government Agent
256
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
of the Winnebago Indians, and was going to Fort Winnebago in discharge of
his duties. In describing the journey, after crossing the Aux Plaines, she says :
44 One afternoon’s ride was over a prairie stretching away to the northeast.
No living creature was to be seen upon its broad expanse, but flying and
circling over our heads were innumerable flocks of curlews.
44 The accelerated pace of our horses as we approached a beautiful wooded
knoll warned us that this was to be our place of repose for the night. These
animals seem to know by instinct a favorable encamping ground, and this was
one of the most lovely imaginable.
44 The ground around was carpeted with flowers ; we could not bear to have
them crushed by the felling of a tree and the pitching of our tents among them.
The birds sent forth their sweetest notes in the warm, lingering sunshine ; and
the opening buds of the young hickory and sassafras filled the air with perfume.
44 Nothing could be more perfect than our enjoyment of this sylvan and beau¬
tiful retreat (afterward known as Dunkley’s Grove), after our ride in the glow¬
ing sun. The children were in ecstacies. They delighted to find ways of mak¬
ing themselves useful — to pile up the saddles, to break boughs for the fire, to
fill the little kettles with water for Petaille and Lecuyer, the Frenchmen, who
were preparing our supper.”
In reference to pursuing their journey the next morning, Mrs. Kinzie con¬
tinues :
44 It was the work of a very short half hour to strike and pack the tent, stow
away the mats and kettles, saddle the horses and mount for our journey.
44 Lieut. Foster had left us early in the morning, feeling it necessary to
rejoin his command; and, now having seen us ready to set off, with a serene
sky above us, and all things 4 right and tight ’ for the journey, our friend, the
Sag-an-nash (4 Englishman,’ Billy Caldwell, a Pottawattomie Chief), took leave
of us, and retraced his steps toward Chicago.
“ We pursued our way through a lovely country of alternate glade and for¬
est, until we reached the Fox River. The current ran clear and rippling along,
and as we descended the steep bank to the water, the question, so natural to a
traveler in an unknown region, presented itself : 4 Is it fordable ? ’
44 Petaille, to whom the ground was familiar, had not yet made his appear¬
ance. Lecuyer was quite ignorant upon the subject. The troops had evidently
preceded us by this trail sure ; but they were on horseback. The difficulty was,
could we get the carriage through ? It must be remembered that the doubt was
not about the depth of the water, but about the hardness of the bottom of the
stream.
44 It was agreed that two or three of the equestrians should make the first
trial. My mother, Lecuyer and myself advanced cautiously across to the opposite
bank, each choosing a different point for leaving the water, in order to find the
firmest spot. The bottom was hard and firm until we came near the shore, then
it yielded a little. With one step, however, we were each on dry ground.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
257
“ ‘ Esfc-il bien ? ’ called my husband, who was driving.
44 4 Oui, Monsieur.’
u 4 Yes, John, come just here ; it is perfectly good ! ’
4 4 4 No, no — go a little further down. See the white gravel just there— it
will be firmer still there ! ’
44 Such were the contradictory directions given. He chose the latter, and
when it wanted but one step more to the bank down sunk both horses, until
little more than their backs were visible.
44 The white gravel proved to be a bed of treacherous yellow clay, which,
gleaming through the water, had caused so unfortunate a deception.”
44 Here was a predicament ! A few hours before, we had thought ourselves
uncomfortable enough, because some of our horses were missing. Now, a
greater evil had befallen us. The wagon was in the river, the harness cut to
pieces, and what was worse, carried off in the most independent manner by Tom
and his companion ; the pole was twisted to pieces, and there was not so much
as a stick on that side of the river with which to replace it.
“ At this moment, a whoop from the opposite bank, echoed by two or three
hearty ones from our party, announced the reappearance of Petaille Grignon.
He dismounted, and took charge of the horses, who were resting themselves
after their fatigues under a shady tree, and by this time Lecuyer had crossed
the river and now joined him in bringing back the delinquents.
44 The first thing wTas to cut a new pole for the wagon ; and for this, master
and men must recross the river and choose an iron tire out of the forest.”
Mrs. Kinzie, after relating the manner of repairing the wagon and harness,
adds :
44 So great had been the delay occasioned by all those untoward circum¬
stances, that our afternoon’s ride was but a short one, bringing us no further than
the shores of a beautiful sheet of water, now known as Crystal Lake. Its clear
surface was covered with loons and ponies d'eau, a species of rail, with which
at certain seasons, this region abounds.”
The points mentioned, and circumstances detailed in this narrative, tend to
show that the route between Chicago and Fort Winnebago, at that day, must
have passed over, or at least near the southwestern part of wriat is now the
town of Cuba. This conclusion is reached from the fact that the point of cross¬
ing Fox River would, as a natural consequence, be in or somewhere near the
line between Dunkley’s Grove and Crystal Lake. The circumstance mentioned
of the west bank of the river being clear of timber, while the east bank was
wooded — the party having to return to the east side to obtain a suitable stick
for a wagon pole — shows that the place of crossing the river must have been at
a point above the present site of the village of Algonquin. Indicating the
route traveled to be as before mentioned, the point of crossing the river may be
further identified from the .steep bank on the east side mentioned in the nar¬
rative.
258
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
The original name given to this town by the Commissioners having in
charge the matter of dividing the county into towns was Troy ; but on report
to the State Auditor, it being found that there was another town in the State of
that name — the law not allowing two towns in the State of the same name —
the Board of Supervisors of the county were requested to give the town some
other name. At their meeting, in 1851, the Board gave to the town the name
of Cuba.
This was about the time of an insurrection in the Island of Cuba which at¬
tracted much attention in the United States, partly from the fact that many
prominent persons engaged in it proved to be citizens of this country, which
contributed to inspire quite general sympathy here in favor of the insurgents.
The name of Cuba was upon everybody’s lips. This suggested the name of this
town.
About the year 1844, a log building was erected near Thos. IV. V hite s
place, on Section 26, to be occupied both for a public school and for religious
worship. The first school taught in this building was at the time of its com¬
pletion, by Edward Wheedon. This is said to have been the first school taught
in the town.
About the year 1844, a Post Office was established in this town, on Section
10, called Flint Creek, which was discontinued some time since. There is now
no Post Office in the town.
In early days there was a saw-mill in this town, on Flint Creek, near where
it empties into Fox River, known as Freeman's mill. It was abandoned many
years ago. A branch of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway passes through
the southwestern portion of this town, formerly known as the Chicago &
Fond du Lac Railroad. It was completed through the town about the year 1854,
and a station established at the point where this railroad crosses the line between
Cook and Lake Counties — partly in the town of Cuba in Lake County, and
Barrington, Cook County, called Barrington Station. Soon after, a town plat
was cut out at this station, in the town of Cuba, by Willard Stevens. Another
plat was laid out adjoining this, on the south side of the county line in Cook
County, so that the village of Barrington lies in both counties. The village of
Barrington became organized as a corporation in 1864. The first Trustees
were Homer Wilmarth, N. R. Burlingham, Wm. Howorth, John Sennott and
G. Hermandinger.
The present Trustees are Daniel Holmes, G. Hermandinger, Fred. Foy,
Horace H. Church, Oscar Lawrence and James Jamison.
The Post Office at this place is over the line in Cook County. The name
of the Post Office is Barrington Station.
The first town meeting in this town was held on the first Tuesday in April,
1850, at the house of Noble R. Hayes. John J. Bullock was chosen Moderator
and Noble R. Hayes, Clerk. The first set of town officers was as follows:
Supervisor, Philetus Beverly; Town Clerk. Noble R. Hayes; Assessor, Jacob
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
259
McGilvra ; Collector, Rob. Conmee ; Overseer of the Poor, Francis Kelsey 5
Commissioners of Highways, James Jones, Lewis H. Bute, Harvey Lambert;
Constables, Chester Bennett and Wallace Bennett, Justices of the Peace, Innis
Hollister and Robert Bennett.
The total valuation of property in this town for 1850, including both real
and personal was $44,750.00. The amount of tax computed thereon was
$672.73.
The total valuation of property for the year 1877, is $290,309.
Among the early settlers of this town surviving, and still a resident, is Lewis
H. Bute. He is an attorney at law and resides in the village of Barrington.
He was elected Supervisor of the town in 1852, and has been re-elected from
time to time on many occasions since. He has been Chairman of the Board of
Supervisors and holds the office of Supervisor of the town at the present time.
About the year 1844, a class of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organ¬
ized at the house of O. A. White, then being on Section 23, under the direction
of Rev. Nathan Jewett. During the same Fall, as has been before stated, the
members of the class moved in the matter of building a house for public worship,
and arranged for combining a house for school purposes as well as religious
worship.
In the Fall of 1858, a church was built at the village of Barrington.
In the Summer of 1873, this building was sold to a Catholic organization.
TOWNSHIP OF DEERFIELD.
Deerfield is a fractional Congressional Township, and lies in the southeast
corner of the county, and is bounded on the north by Shields, on the east by
Lake Michigan, on the south by Cook County, and on the west by Vernon.
As a Congressional Township this is known as Township 43, north Range
12 east.
The name of Deerfield was given to this town by the Commissioners having
the matter in charge, in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants as
expressed at a public meeting called for that purpose at the house of Michael
Mehan, when a formal election was held to decide upon a name. Philemon
Caldwell and Michael Yore were chosen Judges, and Edwin Caldwell, Clerk.
There were seventeen votes for Deerfield, and thirteen for Erin. The former
name was therefore declared to be the choice of the inhabitants of the town.
The result being laid before the Commissioners, the name of Deerfield was
adopted as the name of the town.
The early settlers of this town were Jacob Caldwell and his sons, Madison
O., Philemon, Caleb, Hiram and Edwin ; Horace Lamb, John Mathews,
Jesse Wilmot, Lyman Wilmot, Benj. Marks, Robert Dygert, John Cochran,
Michael Mehan, Magnus Tait, Anthony Sullivan, John King and Francis
McGovern.
260
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Jacob Caldwell and sons came west from Norfolk, N. Y., in 1835, and settled
in this town at what is now Deerfield Corners, in the Spring of 1836. It has
been claimed that this family wTere the first settlers in what is now the town of
Deerfield. But by some this is disputed, claiming that Horace Lamb was the
first settler, and built the first house in the town, on the land now occupied by
Phillip Vedder and his son Almon, and that the house was built before 1835.
When we take into account the fact that the Indians remained in possession of
the lands lying in Lake County by stipulation with the Government until 1836,
and that occupation by settlers was not permitted before that time, except by
consent of the Indians, we cannot expect to find settlers attempting to occupy
the lands much before that year. It is well understood that Capt. Daniel
Wright was the only settler in what is now Lake County in 1834, except,
perhaps, Amos Flint, who is claimed to have settled on Fox River the latter
part of this year. There are those now living who remember of hearing Capt.
Wright say that he was allowed to remain in the country as a special favor of
the Indians from the regard they had for him ; that no other person was alike
favored. In 1835, the time in which the Indians were to leave the country
being near at hand, which they seemed more to realize, they became more
indifferent as to the encroachment of the whites, whereby during this year
some progress was made by settlers, as has been already related in the com¬
mencement of this history. It is possible that settlers may have entered the
town of Deerfield in 1835, but it is certainly not probable that any came before
that time.
The first school in what is now the town of Deerfield is said to have been
taught by Rosilla Caldwell, at the residence of Philemon Caldwell, in 1848.
The names of the scholars attending are now forgotten, except that of Mrs.
Walter H. Millen, who is still a resident of the town.
The first school house in town was built on land now occupied by Walter
H. Millen, on the road near the county line on Section 33. It was after¬
ward removed from time to time from one place to another, and occupied for
various purposes. It is still in existence, attached to the house of Mr. Duffy, at
Deerfield Corners, and forms a part of his premises.
Mrs. Walter H. Millen, before referred to, was a daughter of John K.
Clark, who lived just over the line, in Cook County, from the time of the first
settlement of the country. He was better known as Indian Clark. His life
was an eventful one in the pioneer history of the Northwest ; a brief reference
to which would seem to be proper in this connection — at least, it may not be
considered out of place. Mr. Clark was a man of a quiet nature, and never
intruded himself upon the attention of others. This accounts, in some degree,
for the fact that his name has been so little mentioned in the early history of
the country. He was born near Fort Wayne, Indiana, in June, 1792. His
mother was from Virginia, on the head waters of the Kanawha River. She
was taken prisoner, when she was eight years old, by the Shawnee Indians,
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
261
together with two other sisters, who were two or three years older. His grand¬
father was at the time out hunting horses, when the Indians came to the house
and killed his grandmother and took these little girls prisoners. His mother
was taken to Piqua, Ohio, and adopted into the family of a brother of Tecumseh.
When she grew up, she married Alexander Clark, an Indian trader from Malden,
Canada. He afterward established a post at Fort Wayne, where John K. was
born. He was a twin. His twin brother’s name was Andrew, who was an aid
to Tecumseh at the battle ot the Thames, and fell with him in that conflict.
His father afterward died, and after Wayne’s treaty his mother returned
with him to Virginia.
His mother’s sister married John Kinzie, Sr., as his first wife.
After John K. grew up, he came to Detroit, and in the Fall of 1816 he
came from that place with his aunt, Mrs. Kinzie, to Chicago, as a guide,
knowing something of the country, and having a perfect knowledge of the
Indian character and the languages spoken in that part of the country. He
remained at Chicago for some time and joined with James Kinzie in trading
with the Indians.
In 1818, he went to Milwaukee, and there engaged in trading with the
Indians for two years. He then went back to Virginia and brought his mother
to Chicago. He cut the first wagon track from Fort Wayne to Chicago.
He was in Maj. Bailey’s battalion, in Fort Dearborn, at Chicago, in the
Blackhawk war, in 1832, and subsequently went as an express from Gen. Scott
to Gen. Atkinson at the Four Lakes, in Wisconsin.
He possessed a thorough knowledge of the geography of the country in the
Northwest, which he acquired Tby actual observation long before its settlement
by the whites. He died, a few years since, at his home in North field, Cook
County, much respected by all who knew him.
The first town meeting in this town was held at the Green Bay House, a
tavern situated upon the old military road, a short distance south of Port Clin¬
ton, on the first Tuesday in April, 1850. Lyman Wilmot was chosen Moder¬
ator, and Edwin Caldwell, Clerk. The following were chosen the first officers :
Supervisor, Caleb Caldwell; Town Clerk, F. A. Goodbody ; Assessor, John
Millen ; Collector, James Duffy ; Overseer of the Poor, Philemon Caldwell ; Com¬
missioners of Highways, Benjamin Raudenbusch, Michael Mehan and Francis
McGovern; Justice of the Peace, John Denker; Constable, II. J. Kollar.
The number of votes cast for town officers at this meeting was 71.
The total assessed value of property in this town for 1850, including
both real and personal, was $56,740. The amount of tax computed on the
same for collection was $753.40. The total assessed value of property for the
year 1877 was $596,621.
The villages and incorporated towns in this township are as follows :
Deerfield Corners, on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad ; Re-
vinia, Highland Park and Highwood, on the Milwaukee line of the Northwestern
262
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Railway. At an early day, something over thirty years ago, a town plat was
laid out on the lake, east of what is now Highwood, called St. John’s. Some
progress was made in building here, with the prospect of making it quite a
place ; but the title to the land becoming involved in litigation, its further
progress became impeded, and the enterprise was finally abandoned, and the town
plat became vacated. About the year 1850, Jacob C. Bloom, William Steele
and others laid out a town plat on the lake, immediately on the south of St.
John s, called Port Clinton. A post office was established here in April, 1850.
A steam saw-mill was erected, followed by the erection of dwelling houses and
other buildm0s foi various purposes. A plank road was projected from this
place to Half Day, and considerable progress was made in grading it, but about
this time it was discovered that plank roads were a. failure, when the enterprise
was abandoned.
After the construction of the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad, a station
was established at Highland Park and a town plat was laid out and the work of
building up a town at this point commenced. This was done by a company
organized and known as the Port Clinton Land Company. Among the stock¬
holders of this company were some of the most substantial men of the country
at that day, mostly residents of Chicago. They were Francis C. Sherman,
Dr. C. V. Dyer, M. D. Ogden, Elisha S. Wadsworth, Ezra L. Sherman,
Walter S. Gurnee and Hiram A. Tucker.
Mr. Gurnee, after a time, purchased all the stock of the company and be¬
came the owner of all its property.
The original town plat of this town was laid out in 1855.
At the session of the General Assembly in 1867. a special charter wras
granted to the Highland Park Building Company, and a corporation under that
style was duly organized. To this company Mr. Gurnee sold the entire prop¬
erty of the Port Clinton Land Company. The principal stockholders of the
Highland Park Building Company were mostly citizens of Chicago and were as
follows: James E. Tyler, Judge Henry Booth, Jesse 0. Norton, Rev. W. W.
Evarts, R. E. Goodell, H. B. Hurd, Frank P. Hawkins, C. R. Field, John
H. Wrenn, W. H. Lunt and Rev. G. L. Wrenn. The first President of the
company was W. H. Lunt, and C. R. Field was the first Secretary and Treas¬
urer. Frank P. Hawkins was appointed General Agent and Manager. The
capital stock of the company is $500,000.
The property of the Highland Park Building Company, acquired from the
source before mentioned, and which originally included that upon which the
city of Highland Park is situated, is a tract of land of great natural beauty
and adaptability to the purposes for which it was purchased — the building of a
suburban town. It was bought at what was considered at that time a very low
figure, the suburban idea at that day not having been at all developed in Chi¬
cago. Highland Park was among the pioneers in this new, popular movement
for creating beautiful homes in the suburbs.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
263
The Highland Park Building Company claim that, while they were among
the first to go extensively into the real business of building and creatine an at-
tractive and first-class suburban town, they can show a greater growth and
greater prosperity than any of its competitors in the same line of business, and
that they have constructed more miles of good streets and drives, built more
houses and sidewalks, than any suburban company.
It is claimed for this company that its affairs have been conducted and han¬
dled in a broad, liberal and progressive manner, and that its management
points with pride to the beautiful town that has been created under their care,
with its high-toned population, its churches and schools, its elegant residences
and beautiful drives, for which they feel a commendable satisfaction. Highland
Park is situated on a high bluff, traversed with deep, picturesque ravines. It
is about eighty feet above the Lake. The whole property is covered with a vig¬
orous growth of young trees, which have been carefully preserved in the midst
of the residences, and properly trained. The undulations of the ground afford
excellent natural drainage, which has been well and suitably improved.
The streets and drives have been laid out under the direction of the most
skillful landscape gardeners that could be procured.
Rustic bridges have been built over the ravines, on the line of the streets
and drives.
A pier has been built on the Lake shore, to accommodate the landing of
excursion parties, and for unloading lumber to facilitate building.
Of public buildings in Highland Park there are three churches and two
public schools. There is, also, a commodious hotel. About four years ago, a
fine building was erected in this place for a hotel, and which was occupied as
such until something over a year ago, when it was transferred to Prof. Weston,
to be occupied as an educational institution for young ladies, as will be hereafter
mentioned. This building is, indeed, a very fine structure. Its length is 300
feet, with a corresponding width. It is three stories in height, and the eleva¬
tion to the roof is 50 feet, above which is a beautiful look-out tower, affording a
view of Lake Michigan and the country for miles around. The structure is
surrounded by verandas, affording 1,000 feet of promenade. The building is
divided into rooms of convenient dimensions, each having a door leading both
to a veranda on the outside and a hall on the inside. The halls run clear
through the building, with large windows at each end, giving excellent ventila¬
tion. It is surrounded by handsome grounds, from which numerous graveled
drives lead to all parts of the town.
Among the original owrners of property and residents of this place — most
of whom still remain — were the following prominent citizens : Thomas R.
Willard, Col. William A. James, Maj. J. S. Curtiss, J. B. Preston, Thomas II.
Beebe, C. R. Field, A. K. Allen, J. M. Fisher, J. M. Smith, Frank P. Haw¬
kins, Thomas H. Spencer, F. S. French, George G. Leslie, William II. Boy-
ington, C. G. Hammond, George L. Wrenn, Samuel S. Streeter, Van Buren
*264
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Denslow, James W. Dean, G. Gray, Jonas Steers, V. E. Rusco, W. S. Downs,
W. S. Davis, J. Atwater, R. Atwater, E. H. Plumer, H. W. Hotchkiss, J.
McDonald. Edmond P. Harris, G. S. Green, Hiram Hosier, N. Hawkins, G.
H. Dennison, U. Gray and S. B. William.
Highland Park was incorporated as a city under a special act of the Legis¬
lature, approved March 11. 1869. The charter was accepted by a vote of the
people thereof March 27, 1869. The first city election was on the 12th of
April of the same year. The following were the first city officers : Mayor,
Frank P. Hawkins; City Clerk, Geo. W. Williams; Treasurer, A. 0. Fay;
Marshal, J. W. Ayers ; Assessor, Jonas Steers ; Police Magistrate, Lucius
Field; Street Comm'r, P. Hoffman; Surveyor, Milton H. Baker. Aldermen
— First Ward, Geo. N. Hammer, Thos. S. Dickerson ; Second Ward, Milton
H. Baker, Henry Mowers ; Third Ward, George Grussing, William Osterman :
Fourth Ward, Jacob S. Curtis, A. 0. Fay.
At the present time, the city contains but three wards, with the following
city officers : Mayor, John Middleton ; Clerk, W. H. Plummer ; Treasurer,
Geo. B. Cumming ; Attorney, Edward H. Beebe ; Marshal, J. H. Hinckle ;
Aldermen — First Ward, 0. H. Morgan, A. H. Winslow ; Second Ward, Pat¬
rick Dooley, Edwid R. Hall; Third Ward, Martin L. Burdick, Thos. Willard.
At Highland Park is located a preparatory and collegiate institution, for
the education of young ladies, styled Highland Hall. The building occupied
for this purpose was originally designed for a hotel, as hereinbefore stated.
The location of this school is well chosen. About fifteen minutes’ walk
from the lake shore, in the midst of picturesque scenery and surrounded by
the residences of cultured and wealthy families, quiet and healthful — these
natural advantages, combined with its nearness to the city, which enables
students to have the benefit of the best concerts and lectures, altogether render
it one of the most fortunatelv located schools in the West. The doors of this
institution were opened for the accommodation of pupils, for the first time, in
September, 1876. The school is under the control of Prof. Edward P. Weston,
a gentleman of rare ability and enthusiasm, who has had a wide experience as
an educator to prepare him for this, which he hopes to make the crowning work
of his life. For thirteen years he had charge of the Maine Female College,
after which he, for a number of years, filled the office of Superintendent of
Public Instruction in the same State, from which he was called to the presi¬
dency of Ferry Hall, at Lake Forest, where he remained until he resigned his
position to undertake this more congenial work at Highland Park.
The aim of this institution is to provide opportunities for the most advanced
as well as the elementary studies. Thus, there is a preparatory department,
a collegiate or classical course, one of music and arts, besides which provision
is made for a graduating course of English studies, upon the satisfactory com¬
pletion of which a diploma is awarded. In connection with the different
studies, and supplementary thereto, are numerous historical, literary, scientific
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
265
and aesthetic lectures given each year. Experienced teachers of well estab¬
lished reputation have charge of the music and art departments.
The school is not sectarian, but in its teachings is decidedly religious.
The corps of instructors is large, and is composed of ladies and gentlemen
who have won distinction as teachers. A fine library, cabinet and other appli¬
ances are already provided, and if Highland Hall has not a successful future,
then I am a false prophet.
The building in which this institution is conducted is of elegant and impos¬
ing architectural appearance — not a wooden barn, after the fashion in vo^ue at
many of the so-called watering places, but a building intended to stand the
wear and tear both of the elements and of criticism. The cost was somewhere
in the neighborhood of $75,000, and nearly an equal sum was expended in the
furniture and fixtur°s, which are of a very superior character.
It is the policy of this institution not to burden young ladies with arbitrary
rules and useless restraints, but to adopt only such regulations as are needed
to secure due attention to study and the formation of correct habits and worth v
characters. Pupils are expected to yield a cheerful obedience to these regula¬
tions, under the promptings of conscience and their better judgment, with the
least possible resort to penalties.
Teachers and pupils constitute one family, eating at the same tables and
sharing the same social life ; thus securing, as far as consistent with the disci¬
pline of the school, the advantages of the home circle. Social, aesthetic and
religious culture are carefully combined with physical exercise and mental
training.
Every pupil is required to take proper exercise in the open air, when the
weather is suitable, either in walking, riding, skating, croquet or other games,
while the light gymnastics, calisthenics and the parlor graces receive their
appropriate attention. Great care is taken to guard the young ladies against
sickness, and to furnish them needed attention when not well. In case of
serious illness, parents will be promptly notified, and the treatment of their
daughters made subject to their wishes. As a matter of fact, no such cases
have occurred since the opening of the school at Highland Hall, the location
proving to be eminently healthful. This is to be attributed to its elevated site,
its spacious and airy rooms, its careful ventilation, proper heating, abundant
pure water, well-regulated diet, good personal habits and careful physical
training.
The instructors of this institution are as follows : Edward P. Weston, A. M.,
President, Mental Science and Civil Government; Nathaniel Butler, A. M., Latin
and Greek Languages; Edward B. Weston, A. M., M. D., Natural Sciences ; W.
S. B. Mathews, Piano and Organ ; Mrs. Edw. P. Weston, General Charge; Miss
Fannie E. Marsh, Ethics and Literature ; Miss Anna Stoecklein, Modern Lan¬
guages ; Miss Martha E. Weston, Piano Forte ; Mrs. Grace A. Hall, Drawing
and Painting ; Miss Clara E. Munger, Individual Vocal Training ; Miss Eliz-
266
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
abeth B. Root, General English Branches; Miss Abby J. Benedict, Mathemat¬
ics and Latin ; Miss Charlotte E. Smith, Preparatory Department.
The first Protestant religious organization in Highland Park was an associ¬
ation of the different evangelical denominations of the place, called the High¬
land Park Religious Association, organized in October, 1869, of which Rev. G.
L. Wrenn was President.
A meeting was held at the residence of C. R. Field, Esq., for the purpose
of organizing a Church of the Baptists of Highland Park and vicinity, May
18th, 1871. There were present Jonas Steers, C. R. Field, Rev. George L.
Wrenn, Mrs. Pickard, Mrs. C. R.> Field, Mrs. C. R. Huntington, Mrs. S. S.
Streeter, Mrs. S. S. Dickerson, Charles R. Huntington, Samuel Jeffrey and
wife, Mrs. G. Y. Orton, Miss Grace Dickerson, Simeon Mears, E. Ashley
Mears, C. G. Hammond, Henry Evarts, Mr. and Mrs. Seelye.
They held their first communion June 4, 1871, when the following united
by letter, experience and baptism :
Rev. George L. Wrenn and wife, C. R. Field and wife, Mrs. S. S. Streeter,
Mrs. S S. Dickerson, Clarence Dickerson, Miss Grace Dickerson, Charles R.
Huntington and wife, Miss Eva C. Huntington, Miss Kittie J. Huntington, E.
Ashley Mears and wife, Y. B. Denslow and wife, Miss Mary H. Henderson,
Samuel Jeffrey and wife, Henry H. Evarts and wife, Miss Mary Mooney, Mrs.
M. E. Dykeman, Mathias Mason and wife, Samuel Mitchell and wife, William
E. Cutting, James Warren. C. G. Hammond and wife united in July following.
A church building or house of worship was erected in 1872, and dedicated
October 20th of that year. The total cost of the building was $10, 000.
Rev. G. L. Wrenn was the first Pastor of the church, and still continues in
that relation. The church has at this time eighty-eight members.
The Highland Park Presbyterian Church was formally organized June
2, 1871, with a membership of thirty-three persons, viz.: Mr. Thos. R. Wil¬
lard, Mrs. Susan B. Willard, Mr. Stephen B. Williams, Mrs. Susan F. Will¬
iams, James C. Dean, Mrs. Elizabeth C. Dean, Miss Eliza Dean, Jacob S.
Curtiss, Mrs. Laura A. Curtiss, Mrs. Abbie M. Hardinge, Lucius Hardinge,
Mrs. Agnes Hardinge, S. Merritt Allen, Mrs. Helen M. Allen, Mrs. Mattie
C. Walker, Ephraim H. Denison, Mrs. Caroline H. Denison, Mrs. Pamela
JI. Bronnell, Edward B. Rambo, Mrs. Mary T. Rambo, Lucius Field, Mrs.
Lucia Field, Mrs. Dea. Pliny Allen, Mrs. Lucy T. C. Allen, Mrs. Josephine
Carter, Wm. B. Hayes, Mrs. Harriet L. Hayes, Miss Cornelia G. Hayes, Miss
Mary E. Hayes, Mrs. Anna M. Allen, Miss Sarah A. Patchin, Mrs. Julia S.
Atwater, Mrs. Emma S. Allen.
Messrs. S. M. Allen, S. B. Williams, Lucius Field and E. H. Denison
were elected and ordained as Elders, and Messrs. J. S. Curtiss, J. C. Dean,
T. R. Willard. T. H. Spencer and Edward B. Rambo, Trustees.
For some time, the church members worshiped with the Highland Park Re¬
ligious Association, a union church, composed of the members of all denomina-
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
267
tions. Occasionally a communion service was held under the particular
auspices of the Presbyterian Church.
In 1873, the church undertook the erection of a building, which was com¬
pleted and dedicated early in 1874. It was placed at the disposal of the Re¬
ligious Association, and services held there by that body for some months.-
The Baptist portion of the association organized as a separate church in
1871, and the Episcopalian members also did so in 1874. By general consent
of the remaining members, the Association was then disbanded, and the Pres¬
byterian Church took possession of the building, and called the Rev. E. L.
Hurd, the Pastor of the Association, to its pulpit.
In June, 1875, Hr. Hurd resigned, and the church remained without a
Pastor until August, 1877, when the services of Mr. F. T. Lee, late of
Kenosha, were secured.
The church has as present about ninety members, and numbers among its
most valued attendants and supporters several members of other denominations
who have not united with it.
Its present officers are : Elders — Messrs. S. R. Bingham, Elisha Gray and
E. H. Denison; Trustees — Elisha Gray, S. R. Bingham, E. H. Denison, II.
C. Caun and S. M. Coe ; Pastor — F. H. Lee ; Superintendent of Sunday
School — T. H. Spencer.
An Episcopal Church was organized in Highland Park in 1874. The first
minister was Rev. F. 0. Osborne, who continued until the Spring of 1875,
since which Mr. J. C. Cushman has acted as lay reader. A church edifice was
erected in 1875.
Deerfield, or Deerfield Corners, as commonly called, is a place of some
local importance, but not incorporated, situated in the southwest part of the
township, on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. A post office was
established here in May, 1850, and Caleb Caldwell appointed Postmaster. It
contains stores and mechanics of various kinds, and is a point of trade for the
country around.
The Evangelical St. Paul’s Church was organized here May 5, 1875. The
following were the first members of the church :
C. Antes, William Stuckel, M. Hermann, William Ostermann, John Ott, M.
Horenberger, D. Horenberger, M. M. Ilorenberger, John Selig, William Bart-
mus, A. Hinterberg, F. Gloder, J. Antes, J. Wittmer, John Ielil, F. Meierhoff,
P. Bleuriehl, George Ott, C. Strandt, C. Bier, F. Mau, II. Schwingle, C. Ott.
The first Pastor of the church was Rev. J. W. Allard, who still continues
in that relation. A church edifice was erected in 1875.
The first Presbyterian Church of Deerfield was organized at Deerfield Cor¬
ners in May, 1876, by the Rev. Dr. E. S. Hurd, who was the first Pastor.
The first members were Lyman Wilmot, Clarissa Wilmot, Philip Gutzler, Ade-
lia Gutzler, Louis Todd, Caroline Todd, Mrs. Lizzie Hall, Mrs. Mary S.
Muhlke, Lyman Wilmot, Jr.
268
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
A church edifice was built during the present year.
The church has no regular Pastor at the present time. The church is sup¬
plied by a student from Princeton, N. J., Mr. A. P. Kerr.
The Evangelical Methodist Association -was organized here about the vear
1845. In 1868, they built a house of worship at Deerfield Corners. It was
dedicated October 11, 1868, having at that time forty-five members. It now
has about eighty members. The minister at that time was Rev. W. Goessele.
The present minister is Rev. Samuel Dickover.
About two miles south of Highland Park, in this township, on the line of
the Northwestern Railroad, is the village of Ravinia. The name originally
intended to be given to this place was South Highland ; but from its numerous
ravines, the name of Ravinia was suggested and adopted. This place is situated
midway between Glencoe in Cook County and Highland Park, and just
twenty miles from Chicago. The plat of the town was laid out in April, 1872,
and contains between five hundred and six hundred acres of land, extending
from Lake Michigan westward for about half a mile beyond the railroad. The
streets are mostly irregular, conforming to the natural surface of the land and
irregular course of the ravines. Roger Williams avenue is straight from the
railroad passenger station house to the lake, and is very beautiful. Bridges
are built over the ravines at the crossing of the streets, and a beautiful drive
connects with Highland Park.
Among the original owners of property here were the following promi¬
nent individuals : Walter S. Gurnee, Col. Eloyd Jones of the U. S. Army, B.
F. Jacobs, J. F. Gillette, E. A. Mears, W. W. Evarts, Gen. J. D. Webster,
A. F. Bartow, M. A. Farwell, John G. Shortall, H. A. Stowell, D. W. Baker,
W. M. Foster, J. S. Turner, R. S. Parker, R. R. Donnelly, F. F. French, J..
E. Tyler and A. H. Walker.
Highwood is a village in the township of Deerfield, on the railroad, adjoin¬
ing the town plat of Highland Park on the north, but the depot or station
house at this place is about a mile from that at Highland Park. The town plat
of this place was laid out in April, 1871. It is about three miles south of Lake
Forest. It is connected with Highland Park by broad avenues, on some of
which the buildings are scattered along, so that the dividing point between the
two places is not discernible. The streets and avenues were first laid out by
Rev. Dr. Evarts. Directly east of the railroad depot he secured a handsome
bluff of nine acres of land for his homestead. He afterward parted with a por¬
tion of the same to his friend and parishioner, W. W. Boyington, the well-
known architect of Chicago, who built a fine residence thereon.
Soon thereafter, E. Ashley Mears purchased several tracts of land adjoin¬
ing and in the vicinity, making in all about 160 acres, and subdivided the
same into lots as a part of the town plat, on which he erected a large number
of dwelling houses and other buildings, including a fine and attractive residence
for himself. The dwellings and buildings he erected were designed for sale to
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 269
individuals who might desire to purchase them and become citizens. He has
sold a large number of them to permanent residents.
Like Highland Park, the ground of this place is covered with forest trees of
natural growth, which add greatly to its beauty.
The handsome fence and park about the depot grounds never fail to attract
attention.
The policy of Mr. Mears of building houses of style and price to suit all,
and selling them on terms to bring them within the reach of all, has done much
to build up this place and add to its population.
Among the original proprietors of property in this place were the following :
John Churchill, E. Ashley Mears, Samuel Burkwell, H. Salyard, Henry
Evarts, John Skidmore, William A. Baldwin, Louis Wood, Jonas Samson, F.
F. Pratt, G. W. Eakle, Rev. Dr. Evarts, George Rose, James Quackenbush, J. J.
Way, William H. Hoyner, James D. Robertson, James De Burges, S. C.
Culps, Harry Pryke, John Fletcher, James E. Tyler, F. R. Wilson, Jirah D.
Cole, Jr., B. F. Jacobs, J. E. Burchill, A. H. Walker, Lucius Willard, Thomas
Foster and Simeon Mears.
TOWNSHIP OF ELA.
This, as a Congressional Township, is known as Township 43, north Range
10 east. The settlement of the town was commenced in the Fall of 1835.
Among the early settlers were George Ela, John Robertson, S. A. Shephard,
John E. Deil, George Cook, Leonard Loomis and Richard Archer.
The town takes its name from Hon. George Ela, one of the first settlers.
He came in the Fall of 1835, and made a claim of land at Deer Grove, in the
southern part of the town, and built a house there the following Spring, where
he continued to reside until a few years ago, when he removed to Barrington
Station, on the Cook County side of the line, where he still resides.
When the Commissioners divided the county into towns for township organ¬
ization, there was no expression of the inhabitants of this township concerning
their wishes as to a name, presented to them. They w^ere, therefore, left to select
such name as they thought proper. Mr. Ela being one of the first settlers of
the town, and being a prominent citizen, having served as a Representative of
the county in the State Legislature, the name of Ela was considered by the
Commissioners as highly appropriate ; they accordingly selected and fixed this
as the name of the town.
The first post office in this town was established in 1844, at the house ot
George Ela, who was appointed Postmaster. The name of the office was Sur-
ryse. This name was afterward changed to Ela.
This town is watered by the several branches of Indian Creek, which stream
takes its rise mostly within its limits.
*270
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
The groves of this town are Long Grove, Deer Grove and Russell’s Grove.
The woodland and prairie of this town are not so equally divided as in most of
the other towns of the county ; there being by far a greater portion of the
latter. The prairies are dry and undulating and easy of cultivation.
A good share of the population is made up of Germans, who are character¬
ized for their integrity and habits of industry.
There is a beautiful lake in the western part of this town, called Lake Zu¬
rich, covering about 500 acres, lying in Sections 17, 18, 19 and 20. This lake
was first visited by persons exploring for locations in 1835, and became known
at first as Cedar Lake, from the large number of cedar trees around its banks.
In the summer of 1836, Seth Paine, of Chicago, visited the locality of this
lake while exploring the country around in search of a place suited to his taste
for a farm and rural home. Being forcibly struck with the beauty of this
lake and the country in the vicinity, he decided to locate here and purchased a
claim which had been made by some one on the south and east side of the lake.
Mr. Paine, being a man of taste and withal much ideality, desired that this
lake should have a more attractive name ; having in mind the reported beauties
of Lake Zurich, of Switzerland, he gave that as the name of this lake.
Mr. Paine was at this time a merchant in Chicago. He was the junior
partner of the firm of Taylor, Breese & Co., dealers in dry goods. He after¬
ward became a man of note for his eccentricities, and w~as indeed a remarkable
man. Soon after the purchase of this claim, he commenced to put up buildings
and improve the land. He occupied the place at first by tenants and hired
help. He took up his residence there about 1841. Up to this time he had always
ranked as a very snug business man, devoting himself exclusively to his busi¬
ness affairs, abstaining especially from the subjects of both religion and politics.
This marked his character as peculiar, because at that day men were rare who
w~ere not zealous on either one or the other of these subjects. In his demeanor,
Mr. Paine wTas morose, indulging in few words, giving attention to that only
which was in the line of business.
Some two or three years after Mr. Paine took up his residence at Lake
Zurich, he suddenly plunged into the Abolition movement, and commenced to
advocate the abolition of slavery in the United States. He became promi¬
nent and exceedingly zealous in this movement. This was at a time when the
agitation of this subject was very unpopular. Those who engaged in it were
ridiculed by their neighbors and in the public prints without reserve. Paine
now became loquacious, and was ready for a confab on the subject of abolition
with any one. Among his neighbors he had one sympathizer and co-worker in
this movement, in the person of Thomas Haggerty, who lived about three miles
north, also in what is now the town of Ela ; who is likewise remembered for
his zeal, and as a pioneer in this movement.
As the Abolition movement grew in strength and proportions, and became a
popular subject, Seth Paine suddenly became a lukewarm adherent. His
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
273
specialty in the interest of the African slave gave way to a general sentiment
in his mind that the whole human race was in a conditinn of moral slavery
more terrible than slavery in other forms. His theory was that all restraint
upon human conduct was in violation of natural law, and that the institution
of civil government should be abolished. In this connection he considered the
institution of marriage under our system as one equally oppressive with Afri¬
can slavery He would state the case something like this : By the relation of
husband and wife, under our laws and customs, a man owns a woman, and she is
subject to his absolute control as much so as the slave would be to his master.
He would neither vote nor take part in administering the government in
any manner. He refused to give countenance to judicial proceedings, either
as a party litigant, or as a witness. If his testimony in court was needed,
however, he held it to be his duty to aid his neighbor by stating on any
occasion required what might be within his knowledge, but he would not give
countenance to judicial proceedings by being sworn or taking an oath, no matter
what penalty might be imposed for refusal.
He was the owner of considerable property, but he refused to pay the taxes
assessed upon it. Payment of taxes he considered would also be a recognition
of civil government, which he could not consent to.
He believed that people in communities should assemble often together for
social intercourse and free discussion of subjects relating to their welfare. For
this purpose he erected a commodious building in what is now the village of
Lake Zurich, having a large hall for public meetings, which he called the Hall
of Humanity.
He finally obtained some printing material, and had a paper printed for a
time at Lake Zurich, called the Christian Banker, one or two numbers of
which had some time before been issued in Chicago, where he for a time
conducted a banking scheme, as he alleged, on Christian principles. After
the paper was removed to Lake Zurich, however, its financial character
was dropped, and it became devoted to the general subject of oppressed
humanity.
Paine afterward removed to Chicago, and became interested in establishing
a home for women who were unable to provide for themselves. In this he la¬
bored earnestly for several years. He obtained the co-operation of P. W.
Gates, and other philanthropic individuals, and caused the erection of a very
comfortable and good-sized building on the West Side, called the Woman's
Home. It is well managed and has done much for many worthy women in
indigent circumstances. Paine labored zealously for the benefit of this institu¬
tion until his death, a few years ago. Of him it may be justly said, as the
Latinist would express it, Requiescat in pace.
It has been before noticed, in a preceding portion of this history, that Seth
Paine built a steam saw-mill at Lake Zurich, in 1843. He afterward added a
grist-mill, but both have long since disappeared.
274
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
What is now known as the town of Ela in early days contained a tavern,
or house of entertainment for travelers, of considerable note. It was in the
north part of the town, on the road from Half Day to McHenry. It was built
by Erastus Houghton, who came from Vermont in the Fall of 1836, and soon
thereafter built this house. He called it the “Yankee Tavern,” which words
he had painted on a sign board and put up in a conspicuous place. Quite a
large business was done at this place for many years, and to this day the local¬
ity is remembered by the older inhabitants as the “Yankee Tavern.”
It has been mentioned that John Robertson was one of the early settlers of
this town. He commenced in moderate circumstances, but in time acquired a
large property and became a prominent and influential citizen.
On the 8th of September, 1877, a circumstance occurred which resulted in
his death by a pistol shot. He was one of the Commissioners of Highways of
the town, and had met with the other two at the premises of Peter Davison, in
the western part of the town, for the purpose of opening what they claimed
was a public road. Besides the Commissioners, there wrere present a Mr.
Allen, who seemed to have been quite conspicuous, Peter Davison, his son
Charles and one or two others.
Mr. Davison appeared on the ground to resist the acts of the Commissioners
in their attempt to open the road. During the affair Mr. Robertson was shot
by a pistol, as is alleged, at the hands of Peter Davison. But as a trial has
not been had at the time of this writing, an attempt at a statement of the facts
might be considered unjust, or at least premature ; and as a work of this kind
will be expected to contain some extended account of a matter of the impor¬
tance of this, from the prominence of the parties, there is here subjoined, with¬
out comment, a statement of the witnesses, as given in evidence before the
examining magistrate, before whom Peter Davison was brought on the charge
of murder, as the fairest statement of the facts that can be given :
Dr. Charles Butterfield was sworn and testified substantially as follows : “ I
am a practicing physician and surgeon, and was summoned at the time of the
wounding. Death was caused by a ball which entered the lower jaw just under
the right of the chin. After entering the chin, it went backward through the
center of the so-called Adam’s apple, through the gullet, and then to the bone
back of the same. The ball struck several vital parts, and caused hemorrhage,
which filled the lungs. It was about an hour and a half after the shooting that
I reached him, and I found him already black in the face and apparently in the
first stages of suffocation. I found that no artery had been severed, only a
vein, but the flow of blood was great and impossible to stop. I raised him
almost to a standing posture, as he breathed even then with difficulty when in
a prostrate condition. I never treated, and have never read or heard of, an
exactly similar case before, but I am confident that no treatment could have
saved him. The ball had taken a fatal course, and the rushing blood excluded,
the air. He died about 6 o’clock in the evening.”
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
275
Mr. Jacob Bees, who gave as evidence : u I am a Road Commissioner of
Lake County, and have lived in the town of Ela for the last twenty -two years.
I was well acquainted with John Robertson a good part of this time. With
Mr. Kuikke and one or two others, on last Saturday morning, I went over to
Davison’s farm on a little road business. When we came to the place where
the shooting took place, we saw the son, who, at our bidding, called his father.
We had to wait some time for the arrival of the two, and after they did come a
discussion arose about the opening of the road through his place. We said we
had to open it, and then a long time was wasted in talk about the two roads.
We could come to no agreement, and finally started to take down the obstruc¬
tion, which was a crooked rail fence. There were three fences across the road.
On the middle one there sat Mr. Davison, his wife, son and hired man. He
was told that we would put a fence through on the south road if time would be
given until January 1st, but it was no go. A break was made for the second
fence. One of the men approached Charlie, who swung a club at him. This
was soon taken away, and then both the old man and boy drew revolvers. Mr.
Robertson immediately said to the former: ‘ Mr. Davison, we don’t want any
fuss. We don’t want any fighting. If we do not act right, then use the law.’
He was answered : ‘ If you go on, I’ll use force enough to stop you.’
“At this time, Mr. Davison was standing on the fence with a club in his
left hand and a revolver in his right. Mr. Robertson, Mr. Kuikke and a hired
man stood near. I was a little way off, beside a buggy. Mr. Davison pointed
the revolver at the three men and fired. Mr. Robertson immediately turned
around and bent over, and I saw blood dripping. I soon noticed that he was
gradually falling to the ground. Mr. Davison immediately walked off toward
the barn, while the other three he was with ran toward the orchard near the
house. I did not see Mr. Robertson have any weapon, or attempt in any way
to strike Mr. Davison during the day. They always seemed to be on good
terms. Mr. Allen was not very friendly with Davison, and he was with us a
part of the time. He was sent for to obtain his consent to open the road, as he
was one of the Commissioners. Allen said, ‘ Look here, gentlemen ; you have
a legal right to the road and you ought to use and hold it.' We decided to go
through. We all went in together, but Allen sort of took the lead. He was
about four feet from the fence at the time.
“ Davison stood on the second board of the fence. Someone raised a plank
and struck the fence, and then he fired. Allen was just then standing a few
leet distant, and Robertson was near him, neither doing nor saying anything as
far as I can remember. If there was any fuss going on, it was between Allen,
his hired man, and Davison, but I am not sure that there was any at all.
Mr. August Kuikke next took the stand. He testified as follows : “ 1 am
a Road Commissioner, and was at the fuss. I went over with Mr. Robertson
and others to put through a road that had been talked about a great deal. It
was an old road that we wanted to open for use. Davison had all along op-
276
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
posed the move. I live near, and am a farmer, and have been acquainted with
Mr. Robertson for several years. I saw Mr. Davison reach out his arm and
shoot, but there was no previous quarrel between these men to my knowledge.
I saw Mr. Allen’s hired man strike the fence with a board endwise, and then
step back a foot or two, just before the report occurred. At the time, I stood
on the east side of the fence and about three feet in front of Mr. Robertson.
We were standing back from Mr. Davison, and let the hired man of Mr. Allen
begin the tearing down of the fence. Mr. Davison had not said a word to Mr.
Robertson during the time, to my knowledge. I told the hired man to tackle a
board separate from the one Mr. Davison was sitting upon, and he did so. I
saw Charlie Davison sitting on the fence holding a revolver and club. Robert¬
son’s hired man walked toward him with an axe, but I happened to look else¬
where just then and did not see whether or not the axe was drawn threateningly
on Charlie. I do not think Charlie offered to shoot, or do anything else.
There were present with the Davison party Mr. and Mrs. Davison, Charlie,
and a hired man called Robertson.”
August Randolph, the hired man, under questioning, said: “ I was present
at the shooting, and saw Mr. Davison shoot Mr. Robertson. He was standing
on the fence, on the second board from the bottom, and was holding out his
right arm, with a pistol in his hand. Charlie drew a revolver on me, because
I took a club from him. That was all I had to do with the fuss. I do not
remember whether there was any discussion or not. I went over because Mr.
Robertson and Mr. Allen told me to go along with them, and I did not know
what they did want with me until I got there. I did not say anything that I
can remember.”
Joseph C. Whitney stated that he lived in Lake County, and had known
Mr. Davison more or less for the last twenty-seven years, and was on friendly
terms with him. He heard Mr. Davison say, last winter, that he could shoot
John Robertson and enjoy the best night’s sleep he had ever had. This oc¬
curred last January, and at his house. He did not know what he w*as there
for now, but that he was at his house. Being asked if he remembered anything
else said at the time, he said he did not, but there was some talking done in
regard to the road. He did not think at the time that Davison meant any¬
thing. There was no quarrel between the two men, that he had any knowledge
of, and in fact he knew little at the time about the new road trouble. He had
not told any one this, except a few who had questioned him on the subject.
He tried to keep ignorant in regard to the road trouble.
The testimony closed with this statement, and, as nothing had been ad¬
duced to show that Charles Davison, the son who had been arrested with the
father, was a participant in the fatal shooting, he was discharged from custody.
The father, Peter Davison, was recommitted to await criminal trial.
The first town meeting in this town was held at the house of Charles S.
Williams, at Russell’s Grove, on the first Tuesday in April, 1850. J. A.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
277
Halleck was chosen Moderator, and Timothy Bartles, Clerk. The following
were the town officers elected: Supervisor, Stephen Bennett; Town Clerk,
J. A. Halleck; Justices of the Peace, Elisha Lake and Oren Ott ; Commis¬
sioners of Highways, E. Hubbard, A. Morse and C. R. Logan; Assessor,
Henry Morse; Collector, Daniel Walters; Constables, Daniel Walters* and
George Proutz ; Overseer of the Poor, John Clark. The number of votes cast
at this town meeting for town officers was 114.
The total assessed value of property in this town for 1850, including both
real and personal, was $78,503. The amount of tax computed on the same
was $1,026.11. The total assessed value of property for the year 1877 was
$405,328.
The first school house built in this town was on land now occupied by Peter
Davison, about the year 1838, the work being done mostly by his father, who
then lived near by. The first school taught in the town was in this house, soon
after it was completed, by Lucretia Freeman.
The first religious organization in this town was a class of the Methodist
Church, in 1843, with the following members : Charles Eletcher and wife, Al¬
exander Russell, James Millard, Capt. Turner, William Wenburn, John Clark,
Thomas Haggerty and wife, James Haggerty, Jane Haggerty, Cyrus Haggerty
and Harvey Haggerty.
The first regular preacher in the town was the Rev. J. Nason. A church
edifice or house of worship, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was built at
Russell’s Grove, in 1850. This was known, to some extent, as the Fairfield
Church. Before this church was built, the meetings for religious worship were
held at the house of Thomas Haggerty and at the house of Alexander Russell.
There is also a German Lutheran Church in this town, having a house of
worship near Russell’s Grove, which was built in 1864. It has a large con¬
gregation. There is, likewise, a German Methodist Church in the southern
part of the town, in the vicinity of Long Grove.
TOWNSHIP OF FREMONT.
This, as a Congressional Township, is known as Township 44, north Range
10 east. It is bounded on the north by Avon, on the east by Libertyville, on
the south by Ela and on the west by Wauconda.
The setlement of what is now the town of Fremont was commenced in
1835. Among the early settlers were Daniel Marsh, William Fenwick, Dr.
Bryan, John G. Ragan, Hiram and Elisha Clark, Oliver and Stephen Paine,
Nelson and Thomas Darling, Joseph and Samuel L. Wood, Thomas H. Payne,
Oliver Booth, Charles Fletcher, P. P. Houghton and Michael Murry.
Daniel Marsh came in the Fall of 1835 and made a claim of land. Early
in 1836, he built a house and brought his wife and niece, Ellen Watson, then a
little girl.
278
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Mr. Marsh’s place was near where now stands the German Catholic Church,
south of Fremont Center. This part of the country was, for some time there¬
after, known as Marsh’s Settlement.
Other claims of land were made in this town in 1835 ; but it is not remem¬
bered that any permanent habitations were erected until early in 1836, except
that of William Fenwick, who came and made a claim in 1835, and built a
house on the south bank 'of Diamond Lake, where he continues to reside.
This was the first house built in what is now the town of Fremont.
Michael Murry and John G. Ragan came in August, 1836. Mr. Ragan
settled on the place where he continues to reside.
In June, 1836, the wife of Oliver Booth, who had remained at the East,
joined him, bringing their daughter Helen and his wife’s sister, Mrs. Hannah
Tucker — Mr. Booth, with Charles Fletcher and P. P. Houghton, having come
out previously. They were from the State of Vermont.
This town takes its name from Gen. John C. Fremont, who had then
acquired fame in the world as a Western explorer. The matter of selecting a
name was referred by the Commissioners to the inhabitants of the town. A
sharp contest followed.
An election for an expression of the people was held on January 12, 1850,
at the school house near E. P. Penniman’s, a short distance south of the present
German Catholic Church. Christopher Seeber, Charles Darling and Charles
H. Bartlett acted as Judges, and William Clarke as Clerk. Fifty-five votes were
cast.
The names voted for were Hale, Gilman, Fort Hill, Seneca, Tickleville and
Haddam. There were for Hale, 1 vote ; for Gilman, 25 ; Fort Hill, 9 votes ;
Seneca, 1 vote; Tickleville, 2 votes, and Haddam, 17 votes. Those voting for
these several names, as appears by the returns cf the election, were as follows :
For Hale, I. H. Smith ; for Tickleville, T. Raymond and Isaac H. Smith ;
for Seneca, Thomas IT. Payne ; for Fort Hill, William I. Lusk, John Strick¬
land, Joel B. Sherman, Harvey Taylor, William Austin, Robert Lyons, Daniel
Grover, Justus Grover and Christopher Seeber; for Gilman, B. G. Holley,
N. M. Darling, Jacob Smith, Hiram Penniman, James Millard, David Perkins,
Daniel Marsh, E. Penniman, William Gould, Arthur Penniman, Christian
Thomas, Henry Ames, James C. Price, Milton Schenck, J. B. Thomas, H. S.
Trumbull, Levi Price, A. C. Green, Thomas Bryan, Peter C. Schenck, How¬
ard Horton, Edwin Cruver, William Beach, Charles Darling, Charles H. Bart¬
lett ; for Haddam, H. Swan, J. H. Swan, James S. Clark, G. S. Brainard,
Clark Jones, H. E. Swan, T. F. Swan, William Cook, Alfred Wood, Milton
Schenck, R. D. Maynard, A. B. Patridge, S. C. Payne, S. Hurlbut, William
Colvin, Francis Bryant, A. N. Parsons.
The returns of this election were submitted to the Commissioners having in
charge the duty of dividing the county and giving names to the several towns,
then in session at Waukegan, together with the following petition :
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
“We, whose names are underwritten, were not present at the election
on Satuiday, the 12th mst., and as there was no choice of a name for town¬
ship (44) forty-four, range (10) ten, would give our preference to the name
of Haddam (as the name of our town) over every other voted for at said
election.”
To this petition were subscribed the following names : H. Payne, Thomas
P. Harrington, Alfred Payne, L. Abbot, Whiting S. Shepherd, Edward S.
Chapman, Charles Stebbings, S. B. Madole, Diming Gibbons, William Cauph-
lan, Robert Granger, Gideon Wenbon, W. W. Bement, George Wells, Daniel
Harvey, A. B. Cook, James Wade, Jarlin Wisner, Samuel H. Swan, A. M.
Wisner.
Christopher Seeber, one of the Judges of the election and a prominent citi¬
zen of. the town at that time, in transmitting to the Commissioners the returns
of the election, submitted the following well- written and candid communication :
“ Fort Hill, Jan. 14, 1850.
To Col. J. Molton , E. M. Haines , Esq., and M. Dulanty , Esq., Commis¬
sioners :
“ Gentlemen — By referring to the 4 poll book ’ herewith inclosed, you will
perceive that 4 Gilmer ’ has the greatest number of votes, but not a majority
over all the rest. An attempt was made early in the day of election to unite on
a name, but it was soon found to be impossible. The election was held one and
a half miles south of the center of the town, and in the very heart of the neigh¬
borhood of the friends to the name of 4 Gilmer,’ and still they failed to carry
the name over all the rest. The name of 4 Haddam,’ which you will perceive is
the next highest, was not introduced until after 1 o’clock, and still it received
seventeen votes. After the polls were closed, an attempt was made to unite
upon a name, but without effect.
44 If either of the names running highest are adopted, the majority of our
voters will be dissatisfied ; and under the existing circumstances, permit me to
suggest a new name which, in my opinion, will be satisfactory to all. I will
suggest the name of 4 Herkimer ,’ and beg you to take it under your most serious
4 advisement. ’
44 The Board recommend that our first election be held at the school house,
near E. P. Penniman’s.
44 And I recommend that the place of holding our caucus (if you act on it)
be at the house of John Strickland, it being the most central, taking the actual
settlement into consideration. Your most obedient servant,
44 Christopher Seerer.”
Delegations of citizens, representing the names of Gilmer and Haddam, ap¬
peared before the Commissioners and urged the names of their choice.
The party in favor of Gilmer was headed by John G. Ragan, while that
in favor of Haddam was headed by James S. Clark.
280
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
A post office had been established in the township in 1844, called
Gilmer, and John G. Ragan appointed Postmaster. It w'as so named
in honor of Thomas W. Gilmer, Secretary of the Navy under President
Tyler, who was killed by the bursting of a gun on board of the United States
Steamer Princeton, February 28, 1844. Mr. Ragan, as might well be
supposed, became greatly attached to this name, and urged it with much
earnestness.
Mr. Clark was a native of Haddam, in the State of Connecticut, as were
many of his neighbors. This induced his wishes in that direction and gave
strength to that name.
But for reasons disclosed by Mr. Seeber’s communication, the Commission¬
ers were not inclined to adopt either of the names thus presented, not
being able to determine from the proceedings what were the wishes of the
inhabitants.
At that time, the name of Fremont was on everybody’s lips as the great
Western explorer, and to fall upon such a name was an easy matter. This
name was suggested by some one present, whereupon a compromise was effected
and this was adopted as the name of the town.
That elevation of ground, or considerable sized mound, known as Fort Hill,
which rises in the prairie in the northern part of the town, is a matter justly
worthy of a passing notice. Thomas H. Payne, Joseph Wood and Joel H.
Johnson were probably the first white persons who ever set foot upon this spot
of ground, which was in the month of January, 183T, when they gave to it, at
the suggestion of Mr. Payne, the name of Fort Hill, in consequence of its com¬
manding position over the surrounding country.
The settlement which they commenced in the Spring following, in the
vicinity of this mound, was for a long time thereafter known as the “ Fort Hill
Settlement.” In the Spring of 1838, a post office was established, by the name
of Fort Hill, about a mile southwest from the hill, at the house of Joseph
Wood, who was appointed Postmaster.
As has already been stated in this history, under the head of the county at
large, before township organization, under the subdivision of the county into
precincts, there was a precinct or election district, comprising this part of the
county, called Fort Hill Precinct. It became known as the Fort Hill country.
Its superior advantages, after they became known, attracted general attention,
and settlers came in very rapidly.
The following communication, in the columns of a paper published in Chi¬
cago in 1844, in June of that year, called the Gem of the Prairie , under the
head of ‘’Fort Hill,” seems to give us a pretty fair idea of this portion of
country at that date and the progress it was making. The writer, one of the
early settlers, says :
“This is the name of a beautiful and fertile tract of country situated in
the western part of Lake County, Ill., containing about sixty-four square miles.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
281
Its superior advantages as a farming country have been, until a few years back,
but little known abroad.
“ In the Spring of 1836, while seeking a location in the western country
upon which to spend the remainder of my days, I was by chance led upon the
tract in question. I immediately saw the numerous advantages which it pos¬
sessed over the surrounding country, having about an equal quantity of prairie
and timber, and both of the best quality, being also well watered by streams
and small lakes, so that nearly every farm could be accommodated by living water ;
and knowing that my neighbors, if civilization should ever reach me, would
possess equal advantages with myself, as far as location of a farm was con¬
cerned, I resolved to settle myself here and go no further. The country was
at this time but a wilderness, and not a mark of civilization was to be found
within the distance of several miles, and many an immigrant passed on to Big
Foot, Rock River and other places of note, thinking and making it as an objec¬
tion that this part of the country would always be in the background. And
another reason why immigrants passed was that this was not a part of the
country which they had ever heard of before, and imagined, therefore, that if
it were superior to other parts around it, its name would certainly have gone
abroad.
u Bet us now take a view of the country at the present date — but mark the
change ! The progress of eight years has wrought a change which I had not
expected to see short of the space of twenty. The country has become thickly
populated, nearly as much so as the Eastern States, from which most of the
settlers have immigrated. Public roads have been established in every direc¬
tion and well improved. The prairies are in a high state of cultivation and
covered with fields of grain; and, in short, Fort Hill is now acknowledged to
be the richest and most flourishing part of the country.
“ A town, which bids fair to be a place of importance, has been commenced
upon Lake Michigan, which is about twelve miles distant, where our farmers
are taking most of their produce. There are many who, seven years ago,
shunned this part of the country and settled fifty miles to the west, who are
now returning and paying from three to five dollars per acre for wild land, for
the purpose of settling nearer to a market.”
The first post office established in this township was in 1839, on the road
from Half Day to McHenry, about a mile or so north of the town line, called
Darlington, and Charles Darling appointed Postmaster. It existed about three
years, when it was discontinued. It was succeeded by the establishment of
Gilmer, in 1844, as before related. The original name suggested for the Gil¬
man post office, when petitioned for, was Wentworth, in honor of John Went¬
worth, then a Representative in Congress from the district in which Lake
County was comprised. The petition was sent to Mr. Wentworth, at Wash¬
ington, for his aid in procuring the office. Fearing that he might not succeed,
and desiring to serve his friends in that neighborhood — of which Mr. Ragan was
282
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
the acknowledged leader — Mr. Wentworth erased his own name from the peti¬
tion and inserted that of Gilmer, knowing that the Postmaster General had
been much attached to Mr. Gilmer, late Secretary of the Navv, whose sad fate
had cast a gloom over the whole country.
On presenting the petition to the Postmaster General, thus amended, the
office was established without- objection.
There was afterward a post office established near the center of the town,
called Fremont Center, and subsequently another, on Section 28, called Dean's
Corners. A small village has grown up at the latter place, and it has become
quite a center of trade for the surrounding country. The name of the place
has recently been changed to Ivanhoe.
The first road laid out in what is now the town of Fremont was a road
running from Bangs' Lake (now Wauconda), to Half Day. This part of the
country being at that time attached to Cook County, for judicial purposes and
management of county affairs, the petition was granted by the County Com¬
missioners of Cook County, who appointed John Gridley, Seth Washburn
and Daniel Marsh, Viewers.
The old Yankee Tavern was built on this road, by Erastus Houghton, who
came in the Fall of 1836, of which mention has been made in the history of
the town of Ela. This was in the Fall of 1836.
The next road laid out was from the Milwaukee road, near Buffalo Grove,
to McHenry, on Fox River, and became known as the McHenry and Chicago
road. This road also passed by the Yankee Tavern. The Viewers to locate
the road were John G. Ragan, Joseph Wood and Mr. Goodnow. They were
appointed by the County Commissioners' Court of McHenry County, by
authority of which the road was established. It was surveyed by John A.
Mills, Surveyor, and laid out and established in 1837.
The first marriage occurring in the township is said to have been that of
John G. Ragan with Miss Hannah Tucker, January 9, 1839. They were
married by Hiram Kennicott, a Justice of the Peace.
The first child born in the township was David Booth, in November, 1837.
The first death which occurred in what is now the town of Fremont was
Oliver Booth, who died in the Spring of 1840. He was buried at Bangs'
Lake. The funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Samuel Hurlbut, father of
Henrv Hurlbut, now living in the town at Ivanhoe.
The first Justice of the Peace acting in this township was John G. Ragan.
He was elected when this county formed a part of McHenry County, and com¬
missioned by Gov. Duncan, August 5th, 1837. He joined in marriage James
M. Washburn and Hannah Hubbard, on the 6th of August, 1837. This was
the first marriage in this county after it became a part of McHenry County.
On the 4th of July, 1842, a celebration of the day was held on Fort Hill,
being the first occurrence of the kind in the township. The arrangements for the
occasion were very complete and extensive, and a large congregation were as-
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
283
sembled. People came from all parts of the county; a celebration of this
kind at such a place, away off on the prairie, being considered a novel affair.
The oration was delivered by George Thompson. During the day, an accident
occurred, which cast a gloom over the occasion, and soon brought the proceed¬
ings to a close. A son of Elisha Clark, of Mechanics’ Grove, was accidentallv
V
shot by a pistol in his own hands, and died soon after being removed home.
The first town meeting for this township under township organization was
held at the house of Peter C. Schenck, on the first Tuesday in April, 1850.
A. B. Partridge was chosen Moderator, and Christopher Seeber Clerk. The
following persons were elected town officers : Hurlhut Swan, Supervisor ;
Christopher Seeber, Town Clerk ; Justices of the Peace, Sheldon Wood and
Henry Ames ; Commissioners of Highways, William Colvin, Joel B. Sherman
and Thomas H. Payne ; Constables, E. P. Pennaman and D. Gibbons ; Over¬
seer of the Poor, A. B. Partridge ; Collector, D. Gibbons.
The eastern portion of the township is mostly prairie, while the western
portion is mostly woodland and oak openings. There is, however, a fair share
of woodland in proportion to the prairie. A portion of Diamond Lake is in
the southwest corner of this town, on Section 36. On Section IT is another
small lake or pond, called Grass Lake, from which Squaw Creek takes its rise,
and runs northwestward into Eox River. *
The inhabitants are mostly from the Eastern States, with a small share of
Germans. The neat and tasty appearance of the farms in this township affords
the best evidence of the perseverance and industry of its citizens.
The fruit nursery of Thomas H. Payne, Esq., is a matter worthy of a mo¬
ment’s attention, and one which reflects much credit upon the flourishing town
of Fremont. It contains about 100,000 trees of different kinds and varieties.
He has also about thirty acres of orcharding, composed of bearing trees and
of the choicest varieties of grafted fruit. He has about ninety varieties of
apples, sixteen of plums, thirty of cherries, forty of pears, fifteen of grapes
and five of apricots.
The valuation of property of this town for 1850, including both real and
personal, was $73,150. The amount of tax computed thereon was $920.41.
The total assessed value of property for this year, 1877, was $382,349.
Hurlbut Swan is a prominent citizen of this township, and identified with
its early history. He is a thrifty farmer in the north part of the town, and lias
held several public positions of honor and trust. He was a member of the
Constitutional Convention of Illinois, in 1847. He was the first Supervisor ot
the town and was for two terms a Representative for Lake County in the State
Legislature.
Thomas H. Payne, whose name has been mentioned as one of the early
settlers of this township, has from an early day been a prominent citizen of tin*
county. He was one of the County Commissioners, at the time of the removal
of the county seat from Liberty ville to Little Fort. It was his vote in the
284
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Board that decided the question in favor of Little Fort — the efforts of the
people of the county at that day being to contribute all in their power toward
building up the latter place, to make it a market place and point for shipment
on the lake, it being before the days of railroads and before it wras supposed
that a railroad could be built and made successful from a point east of the lakes
to this country. Mr. Payne has always been a man of great public spirit,
earnest and zealous in whatever he undertakes, both in his own business affairs
as well as in matters of public concern. He was the pioneer in this part
of the country in the nursery and fruit business, and in this regard his
labors have been of much value to the county. He is a brother of Henry
B. Payne, of Cleveland, Ohio, and recently a member of Congress from that
State.
John G. Ragan, whose name is also mentioned as among the earliest settlers
of this town, who is so closely identified with its early history, and who has
been styled the Patriarch of Fremont, has long been a prominent citizen of
this township. He was elected County Commissioner in 1844, and was after¬
ward Sheriff of the county.
Charles H. Bartlett, who has been before referred to as one of the first
County Commissioners of McHenry County and one of the oldest citizens of
the county, is likewise a resident of this township, living near Diamond Lake.
Mr. Bartlett, as has also been before stated, was one of the first County Com¬
missioners of Lake County, after it was set off from McHenry. He resided at
that time near Libertyville, and the interest of those he more immediatelv rep¬
resented led him in the matter of the removal of the county seat to support
the cause of Libertyville. His course, however, was characterized by candor,
and he preserved the respect of the people.
The name of a citizen of this town, now nearly forgotten, may be mentioned
in this connection to show an instance of personal integrity seldom equaled. A
man by the name of Bates once lived in the central part of this town, who be¬
came partially insane. He had married a second wife, who had a familv of
children. After his insanity, he left his wife, sold his property and disap¬
peared for some time. He went to Chicago, and there called to see Philo Car¬
penter, a well known citizen there, who had been an old friend and acquaint¬
ance of his. He informed Mr. Carpenter that he had §800 that he wished
him to take and keep until he called for it. Mr. Carpenter stated that he did
not desire to take it on such terms ; that the church to which he belonged was
then building a house of worship, and could use the money for a time and al¬
low him interest on it ; that he would take his money for the use of the church,
and repay it at. a time named, with interest. Bates accordingly handed him
the money, refusing to take any note or evidence of the transaction whatever.
Bates thereupon went away. The time for payment of the money arrived, but
Mr. Carpenter heard nothing of Bates, neither did he know wrhere he lived or
had gone. Time rolled on, and finally Mr. Carpenter heard by accident that
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
285
Bates was dead, and had left a widow in Lake County, in the town of Fremont.
He at once communicated to the widow the fact that her husband had some
years before left with him a sum of money, which awaited the order of his legal
representatives. His administrator called on Mr. Carpenter and received the
money, with interest. The name of Philo Carpenter is familiar to every one
in the city of Chicago as a man of property and influence. He came to Chi¬
cago at an early day, and was very successful in business.
The first school house in this town was built in the Marsh settlement, on
Section 83, about 1839. The first school taught was about the same time, in
this house, by Laura B. Sprague, of Half Day.
The first church organization in this town occurred at the house of Alfred
Payne, February 20, 1838, at which Rev. Mr. Blachford acted as Moderator,
the church being Presbyterian in form of government. The following were
the first members of the church : Elisha Clark, Cornelia Clark, Hiram Clark,
Melinda Clark, Matthew Hoffman, Lucy Hoffman, Ira Harden, Phoebe Harden.
Oliver L. Payne, Mary Payne, Mercy Payne, Alfred Payne, Nancy Gridley,
Paulina Norton, Emeline A. Schenck, Sarah Harden — in all, sixteen members.
The church was changed to Congregational in form of government in 1844.
The first minister of the church, by some, is said to have been Rev. Joseph
Payne ; by others, Rev. Elbridge G. Howe. A house of worship for the
church was first built at Libertyville in 1845. This building was finally aban¬
doned, and a church building was built in 1856 at Dean’s Corners. Rev. A.
R. Fox is the present minister. St. John’s Church, Roman Catholic, was
organized in 1841, and a church building was erected the same year, in the
southwest part of the township, on Section 30, on land owned by John Murry.
The first priest was John Guigan ; the present priest is Patrick O’Neil. The
first members of the church were John Murry, Michael Murry, Hugh Devlin,
Felix Givens, Robert Conmee, Michael Senott, John Roney, William Simmons,
John Ryan.
The Methodist Episcopal Church at Diamond Lake was organized in this
town in 1858. A church building was erected the same year. The first min¬
ister was Rev. H. S. Trumbull ; the present minister is W. A. Adrian. The
first members of this church were as follows : William Wenban, Charles Whit¬
ney, Mrs. Daniel Cruver, Gideon Wenban, Samuel Hulbert, Mrs. Stephen
Bennett. The present Trustees of the church are Alexander Bolinski, Fayette
Butterfield, John Allison, Salem Cruver, C. G. Wenban. The Weslyan Meth¬
odists in this vicinity worship in the church building aforesaid.
The St. Mary’s German Roman Catholic Church, of this town, was organ¬
ized some twenty-five years ago. Their house of worship, which was built
many years ago, is on Section 21.
286
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
TOWNSHIP OF GRANT.
This township is situated' on the western boundary of the county, and is
only four miles in width. As a Congressional township it is known as Town¬
ship 15, north Range 9 east. It has the least population, and ranks the least
in the assessed value of property of any town in the county.
Among the early settlers of this township were Harley Clark, Rufus Wil¬
lard, Robert Stanley, Chester Hamilton, Hevereaux and Henry Goodale, T. D.
and D. C. Townsend and Timothy B. Titcomb.
m)
The first house in the township was built by Harley Clark, on the north
side of Fish Lake, in the Summer of 1839.
This town was originally named Goodale, in honor of Devereaux Goodale.
who was one of the early settlers, and then a resident of the town. Mr.
Goodale stated to his neighbors that if the inhabitants would consent to have
the town named after him he would proceed, within a reasonable time, and
erect a town house, for the use of the town, at such point as might be selected.
There were but very few inhabitants in the township at the time, and as far a^
known they consented to this name.
A certificate was laid before the Commissioners having the matter in charge,
signed by Noah Dunbar, Chairman, and Wm. C. Neale, Secretary, setting forth
that at a meeting of the citizens of Township 45, north Range 9 east, held in
said township on the 18th of January, 1850, it was agreed that the same be
named Goodale ; whereupon the Commissioners named it accordingly.
But the town house, promised in consideration of the name, was never
built. Mr. Goodale soon afterward removed to California, and has never re¬
turned. In 1867, the name of the town was changed to Grant.
This town is watered by Fish Lake, Wooster Lake, Sullivan’s Lake, Mud
Lake, Duck Lake, Long Lake, part of the Pistakee Lakes and some two or
three smaller ponds, not named ; also by Squaw Creek, which passes through
the northern portion.
The Pistakee Lakes, so called, spoken of, are a chain of lakes in the western
part of the county, which are attracting much attention of late as a place of
resort for hunting and fishing, especially the locality within this township.
These lakes are three in number. The first is commonly called Grass Lake*
and the second, Fox Lake.
Although forty years have elapsed since the settlement of the country
around these lakes was commenced, yet that portion in the immediate vicinity
presents nearly as wild an appearance to-day as at the beginning. This results
largely from the peculiar topography of the country. In some places the land
is low and marshy. The shores of die lakes are irregular, interrupted by in¬
numerable nooks and points, and within the lakes are several islands.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
287
Before the settlement of the country, this was a place of general resort for
the PottawTattomie tribe of Indians. This was within their country. Here
were their villages and most extensive cornfields. The lakes were filled with
fish ; the waters were covered with wild fowl, and the country around abounded
in game.
In a newspaper published in Chicago in 1844, we found several articles
referring to these lakes and country around, in one of which the writer states
that it was Blackhawk’s endeavor in commencing his war with the whites, in
1832, to reach this chain of lakes with his tribe as a place of security ; and
the writer remarks that had Blackhawk succeeded in gaining this ground,
the many points and islands of these lakes would have long secured his forces
from an army unacquainted with the country. No authority is given for this
conclusion, but a reference to Blackhawk’s own account of the circumstances
attending the commencement of his hostilities would lead to the correctness of
this statement. This account shows that his plan was to form a coalition with
the Pottawattomies, by which they would provide him a place of security for
the women and children and old men of his tribe. These lakes were then in
the heart of the Pottawattomie country. It is known that the Pottawattomies
entertained Blackhawk’s proposition at a three days’ council on the Aux Plaines
River, west of Chicago. It is said to have been defeated only by the efforts of
Billy Caldwell and Alexander Robinson, two half-breed chiefs.
The following from Blackhawk’s narrative, as given at Rock Island after
his return from captivity in 1833, to Mr. J. B. Patterson, through the Gov¬
ernment Interpreter, will be found of especial interest in this connection, as
confirming the opinion given of the original intention of this noted chief of
coalition and finding security in the country of the Pottawattomies, as has been
hereinbefore stated :
“ About this time, Ne-a-Pope (who started to Malden, where it was ascer¬
tained that the great war chief, Gen. Gaines, was coming to remove us) re¬
turned. He said he had seen the chief of our British Father, and asked him if
the Americans could force us to leave our village. He said : 4 If we had not
sold our village and land, the American Government could not take them from
us. That the right being vested in us, could only be transferred by the voice
and will of the whole nation ; and that as we had never given our consent to
the sale of our country, it remained our exclusive property, from which the
American Government never could force us away ! And that in the event of
war we should have nothing to fear , as they would stand by and assist us.'
He said he had called at the Prophet's village, on his way down, and there
learned for the first time that we had left our village. He informed me, pri¬
vately, that the Prophet was anxious to see me, as he had much good news to
tell me, and that I would hear good news, in the Spring, from our British
Father. The Prophet requested me to inform you of all the particulars. I
would much rather, however, you should see him, and learn all from himself.
288
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
But I will tell you that he has received expresses from our British Father, who
says that he is going to send us guns, ammunition, provisions and clothing,
early in the Spring. The vessels that bring them will come by way of Mil-
wa-ke. The Prophet has likewise received wampum and tobacco from the
different nations on the lakes — Ottawas, Chippewas and Pottawattomies — and
as for the Winnebagoes, he has them all at his command. We are going to be
happy once more !”
We-a pope said : “ The Prophet told me that all the different tribes before
mentioned would fight for us, if necessary, and the British would support us.
My party having all come in and got ready, we commenced our march up
the Mississippi — our women and children in canoes, carrying such provisions
as we had, camp equipage, etc., and my braves and warriors on horseback,
armed and equipped for defense The Prophet came down and joined us below
Rock River, having called at Rock Island, on his way down, to consult the
War Chief, agent and trader, who (he said) used many arguments to dissuade
him from going with us ; and requested him to come and meet us, and turn us
hack. They told him, also, that there was a war chief on his way to Rock
Island, with a large body of soldiers.
The Prophet said he would not listen to this talk, because no war chief
dare molest us as long as we are at peace ; that we had a right to go where we
pleased, peaceably, and advised me to say nothing to any braves and warriors
until we encamped that night. We moved onward until we had arrived at the
place where Gen. Gaines had made his encampment the year before, and
encamped for the night. The Prophet then addressed my braves and
warriors. He told them to “ follow us, and act like braves, and we had
nothing to fear but much to gain ; that the Americans might come, but
would not nor dare not interfere with us so long as we acted peaceably ! That
we were not yet ready to act otherwise. We must wait until we ascend Rock
River and receive our re-enforcements, and we with them be able to withstand
any army ! ”
That night, the White Beaver (Gen. Atkinson), with a party ]of soldiers,
passed up in steamboats. Our party became alarmed, expecting to meet the
soldiers at Rock River, to prevent us from going up. On our arrival at its
mouth, we discovered that the steamboats had passed on. I was fearful that
the war chief had stationed his men on some bluff, or in some ravine, that we
might be taken by surprise. Consequently, on entering Rock River, we com¬
menced beating our drums and singing, to show the Americans that we were
not afraid. Having met with no opposition, we moved up Rock River leisurely
some distance, when we were overtaken by an express from the White Beaver
with an order for me to return with my band, and recross the Mississippi again.
I sent him word that I would not (not recognizing his right to make such a
demand), as I was acting peaceably, and intended to go to the Prophet’s village,
at his request, to make corn.
HI
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JUNIOR EDITOR
WAUKEGAN GAZETTE "
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
291
4 exPress returned. W e moved on, and encamped some distance below
the Prophet’s village.
“ Having accomplished that, the White Beaver would not permit us to remain
here. I began to consider what was best to be done, and concluded to keep up
the river and see the Pottawattomies and have a talk with them. Several Win¬
nebago chiefs were present, whom I advised of my intentions. As they did not
seem disposed to render us any assistance, I asked them if they had not seen
us wampum during the winter, and requested us to come and join their people
and enjoy all the rights and privileges of their country. They did not deny
this, and said, if the white people did not interfere, they had no objection to
our making corn this year with our friend, the Prophet, but did not wish us
to go any further up.
“ The next clay, I started with my party to Kish-wa-co-kee. That night I
encamped a short distance above the Prophet’s village. After all was qui°et in
my camp, I sent for my chiefs, and told them we had been deceived : that all the
fair promises that had been held out to us, through Ne-a-pope, were false!
But it would not do to let our party know it. We must keep it secret
among ourselves and move on to Kish-wa-co-kee, as if all was right, and say
something on the way to encourage our people. I will then call on the Potta¬
wattomies, and hear what they say and see what they will do. We started the
next morning, after telling our people that word had just come from Mil-wa-ke,
that a chief of our British father would be there in a few days.
u Finding that our plans were defeated, I told the Prophet that he must go
with me and we would see what could be done with the Pottawattomies. On
our arrival at Kish-wa-co-kee, an express was sent to the Pottawattomie villages.
The next day a deputation arrived. I enquired if they had corn in their vil¬
lages. They said they had very little and could not spare any ! I asked them
different questions and received unsatisfactory answers. This talk was in the
presence of all my people. I afterward spoke to them privately and requested
them to come to my lodge, after my people had got to sleep. They came and
took seats. I asked them if they had received any word from the lake, from
the British. They said no. I inquired if they had heard that a chief of our
British father was coming to Mil-wa-ke, to bring us guns, ammunition, goods
and provisions. They said no. I then told them what word had been brought
to me, and requested them to return to their village and tell the chiefs that I
wished to see them and have a talk with them.
“After this deputation started, I concluded to tell ray people that if the
White Beaver came after us we would go back, as it was useless to think of stop¬
ping or going on without provisions. I discovered that the Winnebagoes and
Pottawattomies were not disposed to render us any assistance.
16 The next day, the Pottawattomie chiefs arrived at my camp. 1 had a dog
killed and made a feast. When it was ready, I spread my medicine bags and
the chiefs began to eat. When the ceremony was about ending, I received
292
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
news that three or four hundred white men, on horseback, had been seen about
eight miles off. I immediately started three young men, with a white flag, to
meet them and conduct them to our camp, that we might hold a council with
them, and descend Rock River again, and directed them, in case the whites,
had encamped , to return, and 1 would go and see them . After this party had
started, I sent five young men to see what might take place. The first party
went to the encampment of the whites and were taken prisoners. The last
party had not proceeded far before they saw about twenty men coming toward
them in full gallop ! They stopped, and, finding that the white men were com¬
ing so fast in a warlike attitude, they turned and retreated, but were pursued
and two of them overtaken and killed ! The others made their escape. When
they came in with the news, I was preparing my flags to meet the war chief.
The alarm was given. Nearly all my young men were absent, about ten miles
off. I started with wdiat I had left (about forty), and had proceeded but a short
distance before we saw a part of the army approaching. I raised a yell and
said to my braves : 4 Some of our people have been killed ! — wantonly and
cruelly murdered ! We must revenge their death ! ’
“ In a little while, we discovered the whole army coming toward us in full
gallop ! We were now confident that our first party had been killed. I im¬
mediately placed my men in front of some bushes, that we might have the first
fire when they approached close enough. They made a halt some distance
from us. I gave another yell, and ordered my brave warriors to charge upon
them, expecting that we would all be killed. They did charge. Every man
rushed and fired, and the enemy retreated in the utmost confusion and con¬
sternation before my little but brave band of warriors.
44 After pursuing the enemy some distance, I found it useless to follow them„
as they rode so fast, and returned to my encampment with the few of my brave*
(about twenty-five having gone in pursuit of the enemy). I lighted my pipe
and sat down to thank the Great Spirit for what we had done.
44 The next morning, I told the crier of my village to give notice that we
must go and bury our dead. In a little while all were ready. A small depu¬
tation was sent for our absent warriors, and the remainder started. We first
disposed of our dead, and then commenced an examination in the enemy V
deserted encampment for plunder. We found arms, ammunition and provisions,
all of which we were in want of — particularly the latter, as we were entirely
without. We found also a variety of saddle-hags (which I distributed among
my braves), and a small quantity of whisky, and some little barrels that had,
contained this had medicine, but they were empty. I was surprised to find
that the whites carried whisky with them, as I had understood that all the pale
faces belonged to temperance societies.
44 Having returned to our encampment and found that all our young men
had come in, I sent out spies to watch the movements of the army, and com¬
menced moving up Kish-wa-co-kee with the balance of my people. I did not
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
293
know where to find a place of safety for my women and children, but expected
to find a good harbor about the head of Rock River. I concluded to go then*,
and thought my best route would be to go round the head of Kish-wa-co-kee, so
that the Americans would have some difficulty if they attempted to follow s.
On arriving at the head of Kish-wa-co-kee I was met by a party of Winnebagoes
who seemed to rejoice at our success. They said they had come to offer their
services, and were anxious to join us. I asked them if they knew where there
was a safe place for my women and children. They told me that they would
send two old men with us to guide us to a good and safe place.
“ 1 arranged war parties to send out in different directions before I pro¬
ceeded further. The Winnebagoes went alone. The war parties having all
been fitted out and started, we commenced moving to the Four Lakes , the
place where our guides were to conduct us.”
The skirmish with the whites, of which Blackhawk speaks, was that which
became known as the defeat of Stillman’s Run, in what is now Ogle County,
about fifty miles distant from the country of the Pistakee Lakes.
It will be noticed that Blackhawk was proceeding up what he calls the
Kish-wa-co-kee River now called the Kishwaukee — the former being a Potta-
wattomie term, it is said, meaning “land of sycamore trees.” He says he pro¬
ceeded around the head waters of this river. This would bring him into what
is now the western part of McHenry County, in the vicinity of the present
village of Marengo, within about twenty miles, or a day’s travel of the Pistakee
Lakes. But it seems, however, after the Pottawattomies failed him, Blackhawk
accepted the protection of the Winnebagoes, and, guided by them, proceeded to
the Four Lakes, now Madison, Wisconsin.
Among the Pottawattomie villages with which Blackhawk communicated,
and from which he states he received deputations, were no doubt those about the
Pistakee Lakes. This was, at that day, the great corn country of this tribe,
especially that portion lying in and about the northern part of this township.
The Lake and McHenry plank road, during the days of its existence,
passed through the southeastern part of this township, on Section 36.
The Fort Hill post office was for a time located in this town, in the south¬
eastern part, at what was known as Goodale’s Corners.
The first school house in this town was a log building, of hewn lo^s, at the
crossing of the north McHenry road, and the road leading to the Nippersink
Point. It was built in 1844. Daniel Armstrong was the first teacher.
The first town meeting in this town was held at the Goodale’s Tavern, on
the first Tuesday in April, 1850, at which the following persons were elected
town officers : Chester Hamilton, Supervisor ; D. C. Townsend, Town Clerk ;
Jehiel Compton, Assessor; Orren Marble, Collector; Cornelius Smith, Over¬
seer of the Poor; Calvin Clark, Rufus M. Way and Robert Stanley, Commis¬
sioners .of Highways; Chester Hamilton and A. S. Maltby, Justices of the
Peace; L. P. Barnes and Orren Marble, Constables.
294
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
The total valuation of property for 1850, including both real and personal,
was $33,868. The amount of tax computed on the same, for collection, was
$472.56.
The total valuation of property for the year 1877 was $142,202.
The Roman Catholic Church have a church edifice in the northeastern part
of this town, near Fox Lake, which was built about twelve years ago.
TOWNSHIP OF LIBERTYYILLE.
This, as a Congressional township, is known as Township 44, north Range
11 east.
Much that pertains to the early history of this township has been given in
a previous portion of this history, under the head of the county at large.
Among the early settlers of this town were Richard Steele, Henry B. Steele,
Tobias Wynkoop, A. B. Wynkoop, William, Robert and Christopher Irwin,
Ransom Steele, William Crane, H. C. Steele, Horace Butler, Dr. J. H.
Foster, Charles H. Bartlett, William and James Lloyd, E. Tingley, James
Bartlett. Levi Hutchinson, Ira Waugh, Solomon Norton, Lewis G. Schenck,
Thomas and William Kellam and Levi Baxter.
This town was named by the Commissioners, in accordance with the wishes
of the inhabitants expressed at an election held in the township for that pur¬
pose, January 12, 1850.
The vote on the subject of a name was as follows: For Liberty ville, 37
votes ; for Bern, 32 votes ; for Burlington, 3 votes. Bern was the name of a
Hungarian General which had passed into note in this country about that time,
from the struggle occurring a short time previous under their leader, Kossuth.
The first organized public meeting held in what is now the county of Lake,
for anv purpose, was held in this town. It was a general meeting of the settlers
for the purpose of adopting regulations and forming a compact for the purpose
of protecting each other in their rights as claimants on the public lands, a
reference to which has been made in a previous portion of this history.
At this meeting, resolutions were passed and regulations adopted, defining
the rights of settlers and providing for the organization of a compact. The
following are the proceedings of this meeting, together with a copy of the reso¬
lutions and regulations, as published officially by the compact :
“ At a numerous meeting of the inhabitants on the Upper Des Plaines
River, held, pursuant to notice, at Independence Grove, on Friday, December
2, 1836, Samuel Brooks, Esq., in the Chair, and George Kimball, Secretary,
a committee, consisting of Nelson Landon, Samuel Brooks and Willard Jones,
was appointed to present resolutions and regulations. The following, on being
reported, were unanimously adopted :
“ Whereas, The unsurveved Government lands situate between Indian
«/
Creek and the north boundary of the State, lying on and in the vicinity of the
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
295
Des Plaines River, have, within the last three years, become thickly settled,
and fresh settlers are daily coming in and seeking a residence and locating in
the same neighborhood — many unwilling to encroach on the hitherto respected
boundaries of older settlers, others, with a too manifest intention of occupy¬
ing land for the sole purpose of speculation, and some who seem desirous of re¬
taining for their exclusive advantage a large proportion of woodland and
prairie than appears necessary for a farmer on the largest scales of calculation.
k‘ Many new settlements, under similar circumstances, have adopted resolu¬
tions for the purpose of defining the extent of land which each settler may
hold, and for protecting others in the quiet possession of their claims, and for
this purpose have entered into mutual compact and agreement to carry such
resolutions into effect.
u It appears to your committee, upon reading the notice for convening this
meeting, that no time should be lost in pursuing such measures as the present
situation of the settlement seems to demand, as well for the maintenance and
promotion of harmony in the neighborhood as for the encouragement of re¬
spectable and actual settlers among us.
“ 1. Resolved , That it is expedient and necessary to adopt measures by
which the settlers in this section of the country may be protected from en¬
croachments, and their claims upon lands better defined — to encourage and
protect those who wish to come and reside among us.
“ 2. Resolved , That it is expedient to protect individuals from taking up
and holding larger claims on land than themselves and families can cultivate,
and that no one individual shall hold more than one section of land.
“ 3. Resolved, That it is necessary for the advancement and well being of
this settlement to prevent the holding claims on land solely for the purpose of
speculation.
“4. Resolved , That the country in the vicinity of the Des Plaines River,
between Indian Creek and the north boundary of this State, be divided into
three sections, viz. : The first section commencing at Indian Creek, and ex¬
tending northward to Independence Grove, inclusive ; the second section ex¬
tending from Independence Grove to Mr. Lovejoy's Tavern, inclusive ; the
third section extending thence northward to the north boundarv of the State.
“ II. That there be three Commissioners appointed for each section (to
serve for one year, and until a re-election shall take place), who shall have full
and exclusive power, and whose duty it shall be, at the request of any one, to
establish and protect each and every settler in his, her or their just and equita¬
ble claim or claims on lands, and decide all difficulties concerning the same,
and to establish the lines and boundaries thereof.
“ III. That the decision of said Commissioners, or two of them, shall be
final, unless within two days an appeal be made by either of the parties to the
inhabitants of the section in which the claim may be, in which case it shall be
the duty of said Commissioners, or either of them, immediately upon notice of
296
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
such appeal, to convene a meeting of the settlers resident in such section for
the purpose of obtaining their decision on the matter in dispute.
“ IV. That the inhabitants of each and all the said sections shall be bound
at all times to carry into effect the orders or decisions of said Commissioners,
or any two of them, concerning any claims or rights of persons relating to any
claim or claims.
“ V. That if any person shall neglect or refuse to assist when required
to carry into effect any order or decision of said Commissioners, or any
two of them, or to carry into effect any final decision after an appeal, he
shall he considered inimical to justice and good order, and shall be treated
accordingly.
“ VI. That there shall be a Clerk appointed for one year (and eligible to
re-election), to keep a book to register the proceedings of this meeting and the
claims of each claimant w/thin the three sections, which shall be kept for the
inspection of any person, at all times.
“ VII. That it shall be the duty of each claimant to procure a certificate
of the Commissioners, or any two of them, residing in the section where the
said claim may be, and file the same with the Clerk for registration, and then
and there only shall his, her or their claim be established.
“ VIII. That the said Commissioners, or any two of them, may call a.
meeting of the settlers at any time they may see fit.
u IX. That the said Commissioners be at liberty to demand and receive
for their services for establishing each claim, including the corner posts, not
less than two and not more than five dollars.
“ X. That every one wishing to avail himself of the benefit of the forego¬
ing resolutions and regulations shall subscribe his name to the same, and,
omitting to do so, shall derive no advantages resulting from the provisions
thereof.
“ XI. Resolved, That all who hold claims at the present time shall reg¬
ister them within two months, and that all new comers shall register within
three months after making their claims.”
The place mentioned as Lovejoy’s Tavern, in the fourth resolution, passed
at the preceding meeting, was afterward known as the Oplain House, on the
east side of the river, at the place now known as the Oplain Bridge, in the town
of Warren.
Independence Grove, from this time forward, became the general center for
public gatherings of all descriptions. It was here that schemes were laid and
plans matured for dividing the county of McHenry, and locating the county
seat of the new county of Lake.
A master spirit in these movements was understood to be A. B. Wyn-
koop, who came to the Grove about the first of the year 1837. He was a
young man of good ability, but of rather an angular disposition. He had come
west with an ambition to acquire distinction by engaging in politics. He was
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
297
nephew of Tobias Wynkoop, of whom mention has been made as one of the
early settlers of the county and resident of this town.
In this connection, it may be here mentioned that Liberty ville, in the early his¬
tory of the county, has produced more marked men and notable characters than
any other town in this county. Among the number, Tobias Wynkoop, before
mentioned, is entitled to a passing notice. He settled in the Fall of 1835, at.
the point where the Milwaukee road crosses the creek, north of Libertyville,
afterward known as Wynkoop’s Creek. He had expansive ideas as to the size
of a farm he required. He declared that a quarter-section of land would only
answer him for a garden spot. He claimed nearly the entire breadth of prai¬
rie on the west, extending westward about three miles. His boundaries were
defined by laying down a single rail around it, in the form of a Virginia fence.
When the land sale came, he Was unable to purchase the land, and it passed
into other hands.
Horace Butler, who settled at Libertyville in 1837, was the second lawyer
who came to the county, but Avas really the first Avho practiced his profession.
He was a man of ability, and one of the main supporters of the interests of
Libertyville in all its early contests. He Avas a member of the Constitutional
Convention of this State in 1847, and was, for one term, a Representative in
the Legislature from Lake County.
Dr. J. H. Foster, Avho likeAvise settled at Libertyville at an early day
(August, 1837), was the first physician who settled and practiced in the county.
He was a man of public spirit, of earnest convictions, and among the most
tenacious adherents to the cause of Libertyville in its local contests.
Dr. Wm. Crane is remembered as one of the prominent characters in the
early history of this town. He Avas a man of more than ordinary capacity,
although circumstances conspired to affect his reputation, in some degree, for a
time, yet, after all, he Avas much respected by his neighbors ; as an evidence of
which it may be mentioned that he Avas elected as the first Supervisor of the
town, under township organization, with little or no opposition.
Henry B. Steele, whose name has been before mentioned as the first Sheriff
of Lake County, was among the first settlers in this tOAvn. He Avas noted for
his large proportions and heavy Aveight, and as a jolly good felloAv. No man
was more popular in his day than Henry B. Steele.
About the year 1837, there came to Libertyville a man of the name of
Stoliker. He was from Canajoharie, N. Y., and Avas of that class knoAvn as
MohaAvk Dutchmen. He Avas a fiddler by profession (or, as it would be called
in this day, a performer on the violin). Fie Avas the first of this profession avIio
came to Lake County. Hereupon an era of life and excitement commenced at
Libertyville and the country around not enjoyed before. Stoliker, Avas in de¬
mand almost nightly, at every log house Avhere the floor was sufficiently even
and the size sufficiently large to accommodate a company for a social dance.
But Stoliker had acquired the habit of drinking strong drink ; but it Avas said of
298
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
him that his natural talent as a fiddler was such, that no matter how much in¬
toxicated, his nerves never failed him in holding out with his music to the end
of the dance — that even if exhausted so much that he would fall asleep, still
the music went on with as complete regularity in all respects as if he had been
awake.
The county seat was located at Libertyville in June, 1839, and removed to
Little Fort in April, 1841. At the time of the location at Libertyville, there
was considerable condemnation of the act of the Commissioners in locating the
©
county seat at this place, but it came in general from sources interested in
other points. The better opinion seems to be, that most men of fair judgment
and disinterested motives would at that time, under like circumstances, have
reached the same conclusion.
It was supposed that the road from Chicago to Milwaukee, by the way of
Libertyville, could never be superseded, but, on the contrary, must continue to
increase in importance, until it would become one of the greatest thoroughfares
in the W estern country. It was therefore considered that the interest of the
inhabitants of the county required the location of the seat of justice upon this
thoroughfare, in view of which Libertyville was considered to be unques¬
tionably the most favorable point. Upon the east side of the Des Plaines
River it was, as yet, but thinly settled, and the prospects for a dense popu¬
lation in that portion of the county seemed not at this period to be very
flatteringr.
O
The post office was established at Libertyville, in April, 1837.
The first town meeting in this town was held at Libertyville village, on the
first Tuesday in April, 1850, and the following persons were elected town
officers :
William Crane, Supervisor ; H. C. Hutchinson, Town Clerk ; John Locke,
Assessor ; E. H. Hall, E. H. Mason and R. Drew, Commissioners of High-
ways ; S. P. Statton, Overseer of the Poor; S. C. Brown, Constable and Col¬
lector; and D. C. Steele and C. F. Apply, Justices of the Peace. The num¬
ber of votes cast was 125.
The assessed valuation of property for the year 1850, including both real
and personal, was $88,899.00, and the amount of tax computed upon the same
was $1,178.13.
The total assessed value of property for the year 1877 was $419,287.
The first school house in this town was built at Independence, in the Fall
of 1836, as has been stated in a previous portion of this history.
The village of Libertyville is a flourishing and delightful place, situated in
this township on the east side of Independence Grove. It contains a hotel,
several stores, and various mechanics found in a country village. It has a good
public school house, a town hall, and a fine church edifice.
The first church in this township was built in this village, in 1844, by Dr.
J. H. Foster and James Hutchinson, and donated by them, with the lot upon
HISTORY OF LAKH COUNTY.
299
which it stood, to the Methodist Church. The building was burned in the Fall
of 1866.
A church edifice was built here by the Congregational Church, originally
formed at the house of Alfred Payne, at Mechanics’ Grove, in 1838, as has been
stated in the history of the township of Fremont. This was discontinued -as a
house of worship and sold to the town for a town hall, and continues to be
occupied as such, a house of worship in its stead having been built at Dean’s
Corners, in the town of Fremont.
After the burning of the Methodist church, as before stated, the several
denominations of Methodists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Baptists and
Universalists joined and erected the present church edifice, in the village of
Libertyville. It was completed in the Summer of 1868.
TOWNSHIP OF NEWPORT.
This, as a Congressional township, is known as Township 46, north Range
11 east; the northern boundary being upon the Wisconsin State line.
Among the early settlers in this township were Jacob Miller, Merrill Pear¬
sons, Alvin Ames, James Melinda, John Reid, Asa Winter, Peter Cassidy,
James Emery, Elijah Alvord.
Jacob Miller was the first claimant, and built the first habitation in what is
now the town of Newport, in the Summer or Fall of 1835. This was on Mill
Creek, in the south part of the town. Here he built a saw-mill, in 1836 ; and
soon thereafter he built a grist-mill at the same place, it being the first grist¬
mill erected and put in operation in the county.
Mr. Miller had previously explored the country for the purpose of finding
a mill site as near Chicago as possible. This was the nearest that he could find
at that day, on Government land that had not been already claimed. He gave
to the stream the name of Mill Creek, as, in his opinion, it afforded at the point
where he had located a superior mill site. Both these mills for some time did a
prosperous business. They were patronized by the inhabitants for a consider¬
able distance around. The mills finally ceased to be profitable and became
abandoned.
Jacob Miller was a native of Virginia. He immigrated to Illinois and first
settled at Chicago, a few months before the breaking out of the Black Hawk
war in 1832, in which war he engaged at the beginning and served to the close.
He was a noble hearted Virginian, whose memory is greatly respected by the
early settlers, and whose hospitalities are remembered with gratitude.
Being an adventurous spirit, and desiring to better his pecuniary condition,
he set out in the Spring of 1849, with his two oldest sons, for California, a
country from which the most fabulous reports had reached us, concerning its
mines of gold.
300
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
The fatigue and privations of a protracted journey brought on disease,
from which he died soon after reaching the country of his destination. He
died on Feather River, California, in the Fall of 1849.
In addition to Mill Creek, this town is watered by the Aux Plaines River,
passing through near the center, from north to south.
In this town there was to be seen, not many years since, a succession or
chain of ancient mounds — such as are found in various parts of the western
country — on the west bank of the Aux Plaines River, extending from near
the State line, southward some two or three miles. When these mounds were
more distinctly visible, and before their shape had been disturbed by cultivation
of the soil, they were frequently dug into by the inhabitants — it is stated, find¬
ing therein human bones, in some instances in a very perfect state.
Upon the east bank of the river, a short distance below the State line, in
this town, there was, in early days, in the midst of a thicket of timber, a pecul¬
iar spot, which had evidently been a general camping ground for the aborigines
of the country from time immemorial, as shown by the bleached bones of
animals, shells of turtles and other evidences.
Alvin Ames, one of the early settlers of this township, is remembered to
to have stated that in the Winter of 1840, in cutting and splitting a red oak
tree, near the spot before mentioned, he cut out an ounce leaden ball, which was
seventy grains from the surface ; having, as he thinks, been lodged there about
the year 1TT0, and was probabty discharged from some French or English
musket.
In 1844, this township was organized for school purposes, and temporarily
received the name of Sterling.
A post office was established in this town, on the east side of the river, in
1846, under the name of Mortimer, and James Melinda appointed Postmaster.
The name was subsequently changed to Newport, to correspond with the present
name of the township.
Under township organization the name of Newport was given to this town, in
accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants, as expressed at a public meeting
called for that purpose. The vote on the question of a name was as follows :
For Newport, seventy votes; for Mortimer, seven votes; for Verona, two votes.
The first town meeting in this township, under township organization, was
held at the house of John Turk, on the first Tuesday in April, 1850. Titus
D. Gail was chosen Moderator, and Merrill Pearsons, Clerk; John Reid was
elected Supervisor ; Caleb Cook and J. Lowe, Justices of the Peace ; A. J.
Cummings, Constable ; B. F. Backus, Chester Ames and H. C. Biddlecome,
Commissioners of Highways. The number of votes cast for town officers
was 158.
The total assessed value of property for the year 1850, including both real
and personal, was $94,644. The amount of tax computed thereon for collec¬
tion was $1,394.26.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
301
The total assessed value of property for the year 1877 was $337,778.
About twelve years ago, a post office was established in this town, at what
was known as Turk’s Corners, near the center of the town, called Rosecranz,
where quite a thriving village has sprung up.
The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul R. R. passes through this township,
along the Aux Plaines River. Since the completion of this road, an impetus
has been given to the trade and business of the town, which bids fair to place
it among the first in the county.
The town of Newport has two stations on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St.
Paul R. R., Russell and Wadsworth. The former is situated a short distance
«outh of the State line. The Newport post office was removed to this place in
1876, and the name changed to Russell.
The station at Wadsworth is becoming a place of considerable local impor¬
tance. A town plat was laid out here by John Lux, and completed October 8,
1874. The railroad was completed and trains commenced running in Febru¬
ary, 1873. The building up of the place commenced in the Spring following.
A post office was established here in May, 1873, but the mail was not supplied
at the office until April, 1874. Chas. A. Goodwin was the first Postmaster.
The present Postmaster is Thos. Strang. In 1875, James Pollack commenced
to buy grain at this place, and has recently built a large warehouse here. The
place has two stores and various mechanics. Amongst other things is the
agriculturalimplement store of Heydeckers.
There are in this town three church edifices — the Roman Catholic, built
about 1849, and since enlarged ; the Baptist, built about 1866 ; and the Meth¬
odist, built about 1871.
TO WNSPIIP OF SHIELDS.
This, as a Congressional Township, is known as Fractional Township 44,
north range 12 east. It is bounded upon the north by Waukegan, on the
east by Lake Michigan, on the south by Deerfield, and on the west by Liberty -
ville. The first settlement of this township was commenced in the year 1836.
Among the early settlers were Dr. Richard Murphy, William Dwyer, John
Dwyer, Lawrence Carroll, Benjamin P. Swain, Isaac Hickox, Godfrey Dwel-
ley, Michael Dulanty, Michael C. McGuire, Thomas Maguire, John Mullery,
Otis Hinckley and John Cloes.
The Chicago and Green Bay Road, which was established by the I nited
States in early days, and commonly known as the “Military road,’ passed
through about the center of this township, and upon which the first habitations
of the early settlers were mostly erected.
The early settlers of this township were, with a few isolated exceptions,
natives of Ireland. Many of them had come to Illinois to engage in work on
302
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
the Illinois & Michigan Canal. After working awhile, learning that there
was Government land to be had so near in the vicinity, they came and settled
in this, as well as in other adjoining townships.
This town was named in honor of Gen. James Shields, a hero in the Mexi¬
can war of 1846—7, and at the time of so naming the town a Senator from Illi¬
nois in the United States Senate.
In October, 1852. Gen. Shields acknowledged the compliment by visiting
the town and addressing the citizens, assembled at the house of Mrs. Dwyer,
widow of William Dwyer, one of the early settlers of the township, before
mentioned.
This township was the home of Dr. Richard Murphy, who has been before
mentioned in this history as a prominent citizen in the early settlement of the
county. Dr. Murphy was the first Representative from Lake County in the
State Legislature, which position he occupied during a period of six years,
where he acquired a high reputation as a debater, and a man of marked ability.
As a public speaker, he was forcible and fluent ; as a writer on general sub¬
jects of public concern, he had no superiors in his day, in this part of the
country. He was a man of learning, and ranked high in his profession as
a physician. He was a formidable competitor of John Wentworth for Con¬
gress, in 1843.
In the northeast part of this town is a small stream, running into Lake
Michigan, which, in early days, was known as Pine Creek. There was once a
saw-mill on this creek, near the mouth, built by Benjamin P. Swayne, in 1837,
who was one of the early settlers at that point. This mill, like others of the
kind in the county, before spoken of. has long since disappeared.
The first town meeting in this town under township organization was con¬
vened at the tavern house of Mrs. Dwyer, on the first Tuesday in April, 1850,
at which Michael C. McGuire presided as Moderator, and who was elected the
first Supervisor of the town.
The total assessed value of property for the year 1850, including both real
and personal, was $44,300. The amount of tax computed on the same for col¬
lection was $641.71.
The total assessed value of property for the year 1877 was $449,804.
[n early days, there lived in the northern part of this town a man of Amer¬
ican birth, by the name of Neal, who was for a long time the only native Amer¬
ican in that part of the town. He was called “Yankee Neal,’’ to distinguish
him from another man in the neighborhood of the same name, of foreign birth.
At the time of the public sale of lots at Waukegan, in 1844, John Wentworth,
who attended the sale, on his way there from Chicago stopped at the house of Yan¬
kee Neal over night. It was a small log house, of the style and usual capacity
of that day. Wentworth, who acquired the name of Long John, was about
six feet and six inches in height. It is said that, on rising in the morning
to dress himself, he found the ceiling so low, or himself so tall, that there was.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
303
not space enough to admit of raising his arms to put on his coat, and that he
had to go out of doors for that purpose.
The first school in what is now the town of Shields was taught by William
Cunningham, at his house, on the Green Bay Road, near where now is Lake
Forest, in 1838.
In this township is the city of Lake Forest, a place of note and importance
for its institutions of learning, aided by its natural and artificial attractions.
In 1855, a number of gentlemen of Chicago, among whom were H. M.
Thompson, Dr. C. H. Quinlan, D. J. Lake, Rev. R. W. Patterson and others,
feeling the importance of establishing, at some point in the vicinity of Chicago,
a college and other kindred institutions, held several meetings and finally
adopted a plan of operation to accomplish this design. At a meeting held at
the office of Dr. Quinlan, a subscription paper was drawn up to raise funds for
the contemplated object. To this $59,500 was subscribed, as a temporary ad¬
vance of funds until a permanent organization could be effected. The enter¬
prise was aided by the labors of Rev. J. J. Slocum, of Cincinnati, who proposed,
on behalf of Mr. Gibson, of that city, the donation of $100,000 as an endow¬
ment to the institution of learning to be founded, if it should bear Mr. Gib¬
son’s name.
Five Trustees were appointed from among the subscribers aforesaid to act
temporarily for the contemplated association, until a permanent organization
could be effected, viz. : Hiram F. Mather, Peter Page, David J. Lake, Thomas
R. Clark and Franklin Ripley, Jr.
And the following persons were appointed a committee to draft articles of
association, viz. : Hiram F. Mather, John H. Kedzie and H. G. Shumway.
Meanwhile the Trustees appointed as aforesaid proceeded, by direction of the
subscribers, to make purchases of land, the location having been determined
upon at the present site of Lake Forest.
Samuel M. Dowst, of Waukegan, was employed as the agent of the company
to examine titles and negotiate purchases of land.
The land purchased for the association originally comprised about 1,300 acres,
situated in Section 3, Township 44, and Sections 27, 28, 33 and 34, Range
12, in Lake County, lying on Lake Michigan, extending back across the
Milwaukee Division of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. It was
divided between the Lake Forest Association and the University afterward
organized.
A permanent organization was effected by articles ol association, bearing
date February 28, 1856, the style thereof to be “ The Lake Forest Association.
The capital stock was fixed at not less than $50,000, and not to exceed $60,000,
in^shares of $500 each.
The following persons were constituted the first Board of Trustees of the
association, viz. : Hiram F. Mather, Thomas R. Clark, Peter Page, Franklin
Ripley, Jr., David J. Lake.
304
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
The following were designated as the first Board of Trustees for the institu¬
tion contemplated by the articles of association, viz. : Benjamin W. Raymond,
Franklin Y. Chamberlain. Thomas B. Carter, Charles R. ‘Starkweather,
Charles H. Quinlan, Deville R. Holt, Amazi Benedict, John J. Slocum,
Shubal G. Spees, Harvey Curtiss, Robert W. Patterson, Ansel D. Eddy, Ira
M. Weed, Harvey M. Thompson, Sylvester Lind and Lewis H. Loss.
The town plat of Lake Forest was laid out and the work completed July
23, 1857, under the direction of Mr. Hotchkiss, of St. Louis, which is a mar¬
vel of landscape work.
The first building erected in Lake Forest was the present hotel. The enter¬
prise was started by Mr. D. J. Lake. This was followed by dwellings and
other buildings, until it has become a populous town and place of suburban
residence.
The first elegant dwelling was that of Mr. H. M. Thompson. This was
followed by those of John Y. Farwell and Hon. Charles B. Farwell. These
several mansions are among the finest to be found in any suburban town.
The original forest trees on the ground have been carefully preserved, which
adds greatly to the beauty of the place. Its location in the forest on the lak*
suggested the name of Lake Forest.
uO
Lake Forest was incorporated as a city, and held its first election for city
officers March 23, 1861, at which the following were elected as the first city
officers :
Mayor, H. M. Thompson; Aldermen — First Ward : E. Bailey, J. H. Hul-
burd ; Second Ward, W. M. Laughlin, L. Rossiter ; Treasurer, C. H. Quin¬
lan ; Assessor, E. Mather ; Marshal, A. M. Laughlin : Street Commissioner,
E. Bailey ; Clerk, S. W. Kellogg.
The following are the city officers for 1877 :
Mayor, A. Benedict; Aldermen — First Ward, T. J. Kirk. P. C. Healey;
Second Ward, E. Buckingham, C. Durand ; Third Ward, R. Russell, A. W,
Taylor'; Treasurer, S. D. Ward ; Assessor, L. Rossiter ; Street Commissioner,
Sam'l Barnum; Marshal, T. Howe; City Clerk, Wm. A. Morgan.
The exertion of Mr. Slocum, to whom the matter was largely entrusted,
having failed in procuring funds wherewith to erect the college buildings, Mr.
Sylvester Lind, of Chicago, proposed to endow the institution with a fund of
§100,000, as a University, for the education of young men for the ministry,
to be located at Lake Forest, on condition that there be erected a building to-
cost not less than §30,000. The proposition being accepted, a charter was
obtained incorporating the institution under the name of the Lind University.
The following were the corporators, and constituted the first Board of
Trustees :
B. W. Raymond, President ; C. R. Starkweather, Secretary ; Sylvester
Lind, Treasurer ; Rev. Harvey Curtiss, Rev. R. W. Patterson, Rev. Ira M,
Weed, Rev. L. H. Loss, Rev. A. D. Eddy, A. Benedict, C. B. Nelson, C. H,
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
305
Quinlan, D. R. ,Holt, D. J. Lake, Rev. S. G. Spees, S. L. Brown. H. E.
Seeley, H. M. Thompson.
But, unfortunately, before the time limited for the erection of said building
had expired, Mr. Lind became financially unable, and failed to comply with
his agreement to endow the institution as aforesaid. Thereupon, to prevent
misapprehension as to the name, the Board of Trustees applied to the Legis¬
lature and procured a change to that of “The Lake Forest University,” by
which the institution continues to be known.
The history of Lake Forest, beyond what has been given, is comprised
largely in that of its educational institutions.
The Lake Forest University is comprised in its organization of three de¬
partments : 1. The Academy, or Preparatory Department : 2. Ferry Hall, or
Young Ladies' College ; 3. The Collegiate Department.
In 1857, $38,000 was raised by subscription, with which the present
Academy building was built. The subscribers to this fund were afterward re¬
imbursed by lands from the University, at $500 per acre.
In 1858, a school was opened at the Academy building, under the super¬
vision of Prof. S. F. Miller as Principal, with the following as the first
students : William H. Spencer, John Patterson, George Manier.
Prof. Miller, with whom became associated Rev. Wm. C. Dickenson, con¬
tinued in charge of the Academy until 1861. These teachers were enthusiastic
and successful.
From 1861 to 1864, Prof. J. D. Butler was Principal.
In 1864, Mr. S. M. Johnson became Principal, and continued four years,
when Mr. Thomas Band, Mr. Jones and others had charge of the school for
one year. Under the care of these teachers, the school was more or less pros¬
perous. V ery many students, during this time, prepared for entering college,
and have since become graduates thereof. Thus the academy has accomplished
a good work in sending its graduates well prepared into the different walks of
life and various professions in the Northwest. But while a good work was be¬
ing done, the tuition was low, and there being no permanent endowments the
receipts from tuition were not sufficient to pay expenses, and deficiencies
were made up by disposing of property, and thus a large portion of the property
of the university was exhausted.
In the year 1869, Prof. Ira W. Allen was elected Principal, under a special
contract, under whose supervision the academy was well patronized, although
the price of board and tuition was greatly increased. He continued in charge
four years, haviug during this time, by careful management and thorough busi¬
ness talent, put the school on a firm basis — more than paying its expenses
during the time.
In 1874, Prof. A. R. Sabin, for many years connected with the High
School of Chicago, and a thorough disciplinarian, became Principal of the
academy. Under his efficient management this department is fulfilling its in-
306
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
tended mission as a primary, grammar and high school for boys in Lake Forest
and vicinity. It is also a boarding school for non-resident pupils. It has
always been a college preparatory school and its graduates have entered with
credit the leading colleges of the country, East and West.
It is the aim of the present management to make iPthe leading preparatory
school in the West. The course of study is as full as any afforded in the New
England academies, and is as follows :
Latin — Smith’s Principia, Harkness’ Grammar, Reader and Latin Prose,
Arnold’s Latin Prose, Csesar, Ovid, Sallust, Cicero and Virgil. Greek —
White’s First Lessons, Goodwin’s Grammar, Xenophon and Homer, Jones’
Greek Prose. Mathematics — Fish's Arithmetic, Ficklin’s and Olney’s Al¬
gebra, Olney’s Geometry and Todhunter’s Euclid. English — Reading, Writ¬
ing, Spelling, Grammar, Composition, Elocution, History of the Lmited States,
England, Greece and Rome. Geography — Ancient, Modern and Physical.
In the Academic Department, in addition to the Mathematics and English
studies of the Classical Course are the following studies : German, French,
Book-keeping, Drawing, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Physiology, Botany,
Geology, Political Economy and English Literature. Singing and Piano
Music have also a prominent place in the actual daily wrork, not for show,
sound or ornament, but for study, culture and discipline.
The following, from the report of the Committee on Examinations for
1876-7, will serve as the most comprehensive statement that can be given of
the present condition of this department of the LTniversity, the Committee
being composed of the following learned gentlemen : Rev. Wm. A. Nichols,
Lake Forest; Rev. J. B. Stewart, D. D., Milwaukee, Wis. : Rev. Edward H.
Curtiss, Waukegan; Rev. Geo. C. Noyes, D. D., Evanston ; Rev. J. H. Trow¬
bridge, Riverside :
“ During an examination of several days, it was everywhere evident to the
Committee that substance, rather than show, had been the object of the year’s
labor in this institution.
“1. Reading, spelling, writing, grammar and composition have been pur¬
sued through the school year as fundamental to an English education.
“2. In the higher mathematics, algebra, geometry and trigonometry
have been taught by persistent drill. Ordinarily no text book was brought to
the class, either by the teacher or the pupils, and such has been the
style of teaching as well as examination. The work consisted in canvass¬
ing principles and in illustrating the same by extemporized examples. During
this process, the Committee, with the other visitors, often did their best to find
the weak places in the instruction, if there were any. The result was most
gratifying.
“3. In the classical department of an academy we have known a larger
area of text books in Greek and Latin traversed by classes in the same time ;
but not often a more critical mastery of the substance, as fundamental to the
CONTRACTOR & BUILDER.
.
•• ■ - ■
lliS
.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
309
subsequent pursuit of classical studies with pleasure and profit. The grammar
of a language examined was fully brought out and applied with minuteness and
accuracy. The exact force and nice application of the modes and tenses was
exhibited with clearness, especially in prose composition on the blackboard.
The geography, history and mythology suggested by the text book came in as
a constant reference. The pupils were required to trace on the maps the
march of armies and the wanderings of voyagers, including the localities
of the countries, cities, seas and islands incident to the narrative.
“ 4- Music is cultivated as a science, and practiced as a pastime, but not
prosecuted to the neglect of more solid studies, for it appeared in the exami¬
nation that the best musicians were also among the best scholars in other depart¬
ments. This, indeed, is a natural result, where the Principal himself is a
thorough scholar and a scientific musician.
“ 5. Prizes, as an encouragement to excellence in scholarship, have been
awarded to successful competitors in penmanship, composition and oratory.
“ 6. To those who have known the students previously, the most gratifying
result of the year’s labor is the growth of character among the students. The
evidence of this appeared in the composition and oratory of the closing exer¬
cises. The productions for the stage were original, and the manly thought, the
impressive and often graceful oratory, were palpable evidence that the young
men were beginning to put away childish things.”
In 1859, Rev. Baxter Dickeson, with his daughter, came to Lake Forest and
purchased of the Lake Forest University a lot, and erected a buildinu to be
used as a Young Ladies’ Seminary. This relieved, for a time, the Board being
to the expense of building the Department of Music for the ladies. This
ladies’ school was a great success under Dr. Dickeson, until about the time of
building Ferry Hall by the University.
Ferry Hall is the name given to the Young Ladies' Department of the Univer¬
sity. In the year 1868, Rev. Wm. M. Ferry, of Fair Haven, Michigan, made a be¬
quest to the University of about $35,000, a large portion of which was given upon
the condition that a Seminary for Young Ladies should be opened, and that a
building for the purpose should be erected. But as the fund so donated would
not be available for ten years, Mr. D. J. Lake, one of the Board of Trustees,
started a subscription, and raised the sum of $10,000, and in view of this Mr.
Ferry, the executor of the estate, was induced to appropriate the sum of $15,000
at once to assist the erection of the building which so appropriately bears his
name.
Ferry Hall was built and furnished at an expense of about $60,000. it is a
commodious brick edifice, well arranged for the purposes of a Young Ladies
Seminary, and completely furnished throughout in the finest style. It contains
a gymnasium, an art gallery and music rooms, especially adapted to and fitted
up for these several departments. This spacious and elegant edifice is warmed
throughout by steam, and lighted with gas, and thus completed it is all that
310
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
means and skill can provide for the comfort of the young ladies in their course
of study. It contains, beside the above, a spacious dining room, kitchen,
laundry, parlors, recitation rooms, an elegant school room and chapel, and
thirty-nine rooms for the use of teachers and pupils, which are all furnished,
warmed and lighted.
In the Fall of 1869, Hon. E. P. Weston, then of Maine, took charge of
the seminary, under a special contract with the Trustees, with Miss Noyes as
Assistant Principal and an able corps of teachers. Mr. Weston contracted to
act as Principal of the seminary until the Summer of 1876, and under his
care the school became firmly established as one of high order, and was well
patronized. The first graduates of the seminary, the class of 1871, were four.
There have been seven classes graduated in this course of study, numbering
forty in all.
In the Fall of 1876, Mr. Weston retired from the management of the school,
and Miss M. H. Sprague was appointed Principal, and now fills this place,
associated with a very able corps of instructors.
The teachers in Latin, French, German, painting and music are especially
excellent.
Prof. Emil Leibling is one of the finest pianists in the country and is un¬
surpassed as an instructor, and Prof. Bigelow is one of the finest artists in
Chicago, and is highly satisfactory as a teacher in drawing and painting. The
number of pupils in the school is about eighty.
Ferry Hall is not , as has been represented, a mixed school, conducted on
the principle of “ co-education.’' Only young ladies are permitted to enjoy its
privileges, although it is under the direction of the same Board with the other
departments of the university. Parents may rest assured that their daughters
will be as well guarded and cultured in this institution as in the very best sem¬
inaries at the East.
The original design for the Collegiate Department of the university was
not entered upon until the year 1876. ■
In the year 1869, the Trustees, deeming the possession of unproductive
lands an obstacle to the progress of their plans, accepted a proposition from a
company of gentlemen for the sale of nearly all their remaining lots, at a low
rate. The company erected a building on the lake shore for a hotel, at an
expense of about $80,000. After an experiment of two years, the hotel was
found to be unprofitable ; and in the Summer of 1875, the company proposed
to deed it, with the grounds, to the Board, for the remainder of their indebted¬
ness, which was then a little less than $40,000. This offer was accompanied
by a proposition from certain gentlemen to endow one professorship, provided
$50,000, including this amount, should be speedily subscribed by responsible
persons for the endowment of the college ; and provided, also, that the Colle¬
giate Department should be opened at an early day. Within a few weeks, the
additional $20,000 was subscribed by responsible parties in Lake Forest, and
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
311
the offer of the company was accepted. In the course of another month, two
Professors were appointed, and the same year a President was elected ; and in
September, 1876, a Freshman class was organized, consisting of twelve mem¬
bers.
The college building is a fine wooden structure, situated on the shore of
the lake, a little more than a mile from the railroad depot. It contains sixty
rooms for students, besides parlor, library and chapel, recitation rooms and din¬
ing room and kitchen, with many other conveniences. The present college
grounds embrace twelve acres. The park for the site of the future university
building contains nearly forty acres. Near the present college building there
is a fine artesian well, from which an ample supply of water is obtained, both
for the college and the Ladies’ Seminary.
The College Department now consists of two classes, Freshman and Sopho¬
more, embracing about eleven members in each, and two Professors, beside the
President, viz. : Rev. John H. Hewitt, Professor of the Latin and Greek Lan¬
guages, and E. P. Morris, A. M., Professor of Mathematics. The President is
Rev. R. W. Patterson, D. D.
There are two courses of study in this department, viz. : The Classical and
Scientific, which are substantially co-extensive with the courses in Yale College.
A good beginning has been made in a library, numbering between three
and four thousand volumes, which is open to all the departments of the LTni-
versity. The instruction in this department is unsurpassed by that of any Of
our older institutions. Young ladies are admitted to the classes on the
same conditions as young gentlemen, but only gentlemen board or room in the
college building. The utmost care is exercised in the supervision of the
students. It is hoped and believed that this young College will command the
patronage and beneficence of the friends of Christian education in all this
portion of the Northwest.
It is worthy of congratulation and of thanksgiving that within the last two
years handsome donations to the funds of this University have been pledged by
several reliable friends of education.
The property of the University now consists of University Park, 40 acres ;
Academy Park, 10 acres, with buildings ; Seminary Park, 12 acres, with build¬
ings ; building occupied by College, with 12 acres of ground ; all together
worth about $185,000 ; other property valued at $45,000 ; permanent endow¬
ments, $70,000; total, $300,000.
This is but a fair beginning. It is the hope and purpose of the Trustees to
make the University at Lake Forest an educational center for the Northwest,
especially for the churches of the Presbyterian denomination, that have no other
College for whose endowment and patronage they are deemed responsible.
It remains to be seen whether the friends of Christian education, especially
the Presbyterians, in the cities of Chicago and Milwaukee, and of the North¬
west, will co-operate in this last effort for the thorough education of our
312
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
own sons and daughters in an institution planted and sustained as a home
enterprise.
The First Presbyterian Church, in Lake Forest, was organized by the
Presbytery of Chicago, July 24, 1859, and embraced twelve members. On the
same day, Mr. Samuel F. Miller and Dr. Charles H. Quinlan were elected and
installed Elders of the church.
The first members of the church were as follows : Samuel F. Miller, Mrs.
Charlotte H. Miller, Charles H. Quinlan, Mrs. Ruth E. Quinlan, James
Anderson, James H, Wright, Mrs. Eunice Wright, Mrs. Eliizabeth H. Bald¬
win, Harvey L. House, Mrs. Jessie House, Hugh Samuel, Mrs. Elizabeth
Samuel, Miss Elizabeth Disencamper, Miss Mary Lynch, Mrs. Sarah B.
Hickey.
Divine worship was held for the first three years of its history in the chapel
of the Academy. Rev. Wm. C. Dickinson assumed the duties of Acting Pas¬
tor, October 2, 1859. This relation continued until July 13, 1862, when Rev.
A. H. Post became the stated supply for one year. July 19, 1863, Rev.
Wm. C. Dickinson resumed his connection with the church as stated supply,
and in the Spring of 1864, accepted a call to become in form its Pastor, and
w- s duly installed May 10 of the same year.
In July, 1862, the Chapel (in size thirty feet by sixty) now occupied by
the church was opened for divine worship.
Rev. Mr. Dickinson was dismissed as Pastor in June, 1867. In June,
1868, Rev. James H. Taylor became Pastor, and dismissed, at his own request,
June, 1875. Rev. Wm. R. Brown became Pastor, October 1, 1877, and is
the present Pastor.
There was a Catholic building, of logs, in this town, built near Wm. Dwyer’s,
about 1839. It was abandoned about 1845. There is now a very fine Catholic
church edifice at Lake Forest, built in 1875. There is also a Catholic church
in the southwest part of this town, a very fine brick building. This super¬
seded a church building of logs, built in 1839, near Michael Yores’, in what is
now the town of Deerfield.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church of Lake Forest was organized in
1866 by Elder J. B. Dawson, minister in charge. This church grew out of a
Sunday School which was organized in 1865 by Mrs. H. M. Thompson and
Miss Webster, and was held in the brick school house with four scholars.
The church was organized by electing Alexander Marshall and Siman W.
Smith Trustees. Charles Taylor was first class leader. This church is con¬
nected with the Conference of the A. M. E. Church of the State of Illinois.
Their house of worship was erected in 1870, and dedicated in 1875, and
cost $900. The present Board of Trustees are Peter Williams, Samuel Dent
and Smith Hayes. The Stewards are Samuel Dent, Henry Burr and Henry
McIntosh. The present Pastor is Aaron Perkins.
There is a good Sunday School, with about twenty scholars.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Lake Bluff, otherwise known as the Lake Bluff Camp Meeting enterprise, is
situated in this township, on Lake Michigan, a short distance north of Lake
Forest, east of Rockland Station, on the Northwestern Railroad. A plat of
this place was laid out and completed February 24, 1877.
Like Lake Forest, the native trees on the ground have been preserved-, and
the place has been rendered very attractive by its rustic bridges and winding
avenues. It is designed not only for religious camp meetings, but. as Mr.
Thatcher, President of the Association, expresses it, as a place of u summer
resort, similar in character to Martha’s Vineyard and Ocean Grove, where,
without the expense and weariness of a long journey, rest and change mav be
found.”
The place is the property of an organized association known as the “ Lake
Bluff Camp Meeting Association of the Methodist EpiscopalChurch.” The
officers of the association are as follows : Solomon Thatcher, Jr., President,
Thatcher Park, Ill.; Hon. D. N. Cooley, Vice-President, Dubuque, Iowa; S.
A. Kean, Treasurer, 100 Washington street, Chicago; Rev. C. G. Truesdell.
Secretary, 51 La Salle street, Chicago ; Rev. Robert D. Sheppard, Cor¬
responding Secretary, 1023 West Monroe street, Chicago.
TOWNSHIP OF VERNON.
This as a Congressional Township is known as Township 43, north Range
11 east.
Much that pertains to the early history of this town has already been given
under the head of the county at large. To dwell thereon here, at any very con¬
siderable length, would be but a repetition of what has already been said.
Among the early settlers of this town were Capt. Daniel Wright, Asahel
Talcott, Clark Knights, William Easton, Seth Washburn, John Herrick, John
and Robert Easton, Theron Parsons, Hiram Kennicott, Mathias Mason, Andrew
S. Wells, Elisha Gridley, John A. Mills, Rufus Soules, R. E. and J. M. Wash¬
burn, James Chambers, Alonzo Cook, Henry Wells, John Gridley, Thomas
Bradwell, Wm. Wigham and Moses Putney.
In this portion of the country was commenced the first settlement of the
county ; hence, as a general thing, the first occurrences of every kind arising
in human affairs transpired in what now comprises this township.
Here, in 1834, was built the first habitation, by Capt. Daniel Wright.
Here occurred the first marriage and the first death. Here, in 1835, settled
the first lawyer, Hiram Kennicott, who was also the first Justice of the Peace.
Here also was built the first saw-mill and sawed the first lumber, and here was
erected the first framed building, or building constructed of sawed material.
Here was established the first Post Office and the first store of goods, and here
was taught the first school. With most of these first occurrences is associated
314
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
the name of Hiram Kennicott. He was the first lawyer in the county, the first
Justice of the Peace, married the first couple, tried the first law-suit, built the
first saw-mill, opened the first store of goods and built the first framed building
in the county, all of which occurred in this town. It may be added that the
first election in what is now Lake County was held at the house of Hiram Ken¬
nicott, in this town.
There was a warm contest among the inhabitants in adopting a name for
this town. The petitions and communications to the Commissioners having the
matter in charge, on the subject, were quite numerous. Many of the inhabit¬
ants at that time being from Rome, in the State of New York, desired that
name as the name of the town, and so expressed their wishes by petition, and
at a public meeting. This was opposed by others, who came from some other
locality. The name of Half Day was urged by many of the older inhabitants
who had became attached to that name from early associations. This was
opposed by others, partly because it was not deemed a very appropriate name,
and because no satisfactory account could be given of its origin. The com¬
missioners finally disregarded all the names proposed, and selected the name of
AYrnon, from Alt. ATernon, the home of AVashington.
Of the early settlers of this town, Alatthias Mason, the first County Treas¬
urer, still survives, and remains a resident here. He came to Chicago about
the year 1833, and there worked at blacksmithing until he came to this
county. It is remembered that in the Spring of 1835, he had his shop — a
log building — on the corner of Lake and Dearborn streets, opposite the
Tremont House.
Elisha Gridley, one of the early settlers of this town, came here when quite
young. He is still a resident of the town. He has served several terms as
Supervisor of the town, and has been a Representative in the Legislature.
The first town meeting in this town, under township organization, was held
at Half Day ALllage, on the first Tuesday in April, 1850. Matthias Alason
presided as Aloderator, and Robert M. Hamilton acted as Clerk. The follow¬
ing persons were elected as the first town officers: Capt. James Aloore, Super¬
visor; Orange Brace, Town Clerk; Philander Stewart, Justice of the Peace;
Elisha Gridley, Assessor ; IT. H. Hawkes, Job AY. Tripp and Irwin Ruth,
Commissioners of Highways ; J. AY. Ayres, Constable and Collector ; Robert
Hamilton, Overseer of the Poor.
The assessed value of property in this township for the year 1850 was
$110,418.00; the amount of tax computed on the same was $1,368.08.
The total assessed value of property for 1877 was $393,173.00.
The Alethodist Episcopal Church commenced work in this town at an early
day. About the year 1837, a class was formed at Half Day, of which AAnlliam
Hamilton was Leader, and Joseph E. Kennicott, Steward. Some of the mem¬
bers of this class were as follows : David Hamilton and wife, Alary A. Hamil¬
ton, Andrew S. YV ells and wife, Airs. John Gridley and her daughters, Eliza-
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY. 315
beth and Mary A. Gridley, Hiram Parsons, Warren Sprague and Elbert How¬
ard and wife.
The Congregational Church of Half Day was organized November 20, 1841.
Rev. Elbridge G. Howe was the first minister. He was succeeded by Rev.
Joseph H. Payne in January following.
The names of members at the time of the organization were : Joshua Pelton
and wife, Susanna Pelton; Sarah Hawkes, Joshua Pelton, Jr., and wife, Esther
Pelton; Thomas Pelton, Levi Walker, Jane B. Walker, Lyman Wilmot,
Clarissa Wilmot, Jesse Wilmot, Luther Farnham, Mary Cook, Silas Stevens,
Selina Stevens.
The building of a house of worship was commenced at Half Day in 1844,
and completed in a year or two thereafter.
The Presbyterian Church was organized April 24, 1870, by J. H. Trow¬
bridge, from Chicago. Number of members, 22. The present minister is Rev.
S. R. Dale. The present church building at Half Day was built in 1876.
The Evangelical Association was organized at Long Grove about 1845.
Rev. C. Kopp was the first minister. The first members were as follows :
Christian Erb, Sr., and wife; Martin Fehlman, Sr., and wife ; Henry Knopf
and wife; Adam Knopf and wife; John Knedles and wife, and four daughters
and one son, Harrison ; James Morse and wife.
A house of worship was built in 1860. The present minister is Henry
Muir. Number of members, about 45.
The Lutheran Protestant United Congregation at Long Grove was organized
in 1847. The first regular appointed minister was Mr. Simon Damsen ; before
him Mr. Francis A. Hoffmann, formerly banker in Chicago, preached there a
few times. The first members were :
Jacob Clump, Philip Schmitz, John Goswdler, Martin Goswiller, Caspar
Seigwalt, Jacob Link, Jacob Barbross, Jacob Schnaibele, John Heller, David
Hans, George Ruth, Henry Sandman, Frederick Wickersheim, John Leinhardt,
Adam Degen, Jacob Muir, John Bent, Henry Knigze, Henry Auckermann.
A house of worship was built in 1848. Present number of members,
about 110.
The St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church was formed at Buffalo Grove in
this town, in 1848. Rev. Mr. Fordmann was the first Priest. This church is
near the county line, and a portion of the members live in Cook County, lliere
were at first about 10 members ; now about 450. The present Priest is Rev.
Joseph W. Goebbels. A church edifice was built in 1852, and destroyed by lire
in 1854. It was rebuilt in 1856.
316
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
(
TOWNSHIP OF WARREN.
This, as a Congressional Township, is known as Township 45, north Range
11 east.
The first settlement ot this town was commenced in 1885, in the vicinity of
the Des Plaines River. Much of the early history of this town is a part of the
general history of the county, which is hereinbefore related under the head of
the county at large.
Among the early settlers were Samuel Brookes, Thomas McClure, Amos
Bennett, L. Vs . Craig, 'Ezekiel Boyland, Leonard Gage, George Gage, George
A. Drury, Avery Esty, Moses Esty, William Lovejoy, Abram Marsh, William
Ladd, George A. Drury, Willard Jones, Orange Smith, Orlin B. Smith, David
Gilmore and Amaziah Smith.
The name of this town was given by the Commissioners in accordance with
the wishes of the inhabitants as expressed at a public meeting called for that
purpose, a copy of the proceedings of which is here given, as best showing the
circumstances attending the selection of the name :
“ At a meeting held pursuant to notice, at the school house in School District
Number One, Township Forty-five, Range Eleven (11) east, third principal
meridian, for the purpose of selecting a name for said town. Amos Wright was
chosen Chairman, and Phillip Blanchard, Secretary. The meeting being or¬
ganized, it was resolved that the name that should receive the highest number
of votes should be the name for said town as the first choice, and that six
names should be selected as the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth
choice.
“ The meeting then proceeded to vote for names, whereupon the name of
Warren was chosen as the first choice, Leroy was chosen as the second choice,
Milton was chosen as the third choice, Lebanon was chosen as the fourth choice,
Genesee as the fifth choice, Hudson as the sixth choice. Motioned and carried
that Asa Pratt convey the proceedings of this meeting to the Commissioners.”
Amos Wright and Alexander Druse, wdio lived in the western part of the
township, were from the town of Warren, in Herkimer County, in the State of
New York. They w^ere solid in their demand for this name. Mr. Druse was
an old-fashioned man, of comprehension and ideas in proportion to the advan¬
tages of his surroundings. He had spent most of his days in the town of War¬
ren, from which he emigrated, seldom going beyond its limits during the time.
To him, the town of Warren was nearly the whole world, and its name pos¬
sessed a peculiar charm. He canvassed the township in the interest of this
name with as much zeal as if the destiny of the country had been at stake.
It will be noticed that the name was carried in the meeting, not by a ma¬
jority vote, but through the ingenious plan devised in determining the result,
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
317
it being agreed beforehand that the highest out of six names voted for should
be taken as the choice of the meeting.
The town of Warren, in the State of New York, was so named in honor of
Gen. Joseph Warren, who fell at the Battle of Bunker Hill, in the beginning
of the American Revolution.
Ancient mounds are found in this town, along the Des Plaines River, like
those alluded to in Newport and Wauconda.
The first school house in this town was built about 1838, a log building, in
the northern part of the town, near where Peter Strang now lives. James
Alvoid taught the first school in town in this house, about the year aforesaid.
This township was the home, in early days, of three individvuals who are
remembered for occurrences attending each. It was the home of William Love-
joy, who drove the first mail stage through the county, between Chicago and
Milwaukee ; of Ezekiel Boyland, who was the first man in the county on whom
judicial process was ever served, as has before been related; and of Amos Ben¬
nett, a colored man, who declared on a certain occasion that he was “ the first
white man that ever planted corn in Lake County.”
The first town meeting held in this town, under township organization, was
convened at the school house, near the O’ Plain House, on the first Tues¬
day in April, 1850. Nathaniel Yose, Esq., was chosen Moderator, and Ben¬
jamin Schauber, Clerk. The following persons were elected the first town
officers : Havelia Whitney, Supervisor ; Benjamin Schauber, Town Clerk ;
Nathaniel Yose, Jr., Assessor; George A. Drury, Overseer of the Poor; Levi
Stafford, Collector; A. M. Pearsons, Alfred 1). Whitmore and Marcus S.
Marsh, Commissioners of Highways ; Philip Blanchard and Havelia Whitney,
Justices of the Peace.
In 1850, at the beginning of the township organization, this town, in point
of wealth, ranked the second in the county.
The assessed value of property for the year 1850, including both real and
personal, was $114,989. The amount of tax computed on the same for collec¬
tion was $1,932.16.
The total assessed value of property for 1877 was $304,612.
The first religious meetings in this township were held in the school house
in the northern part of the township, before mentioned.
About twenty years ago, the Disciples organized a society in this town, and
have since held their meetings for worship in the school house, at the Aux
Plaines bridge.
In January, 1877, a class of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized
at Stafford’s school house, under direction of Rev. A. Wakeman, of Evanston,
comprising about seventeen members.
There is a prosperous Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry in this
town, who have a commodious hall, built about two years ago, at what is known
as Whitmore’s Corners.
318
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
TOWNSHIP OF WAUCONDA.
Wauconda is one of those fractional townships upon the west line of the
county. It is bounded upon the north by Goodale ; on the east by Fremont ;
on the south by Cuba, and on the west by McHenry County. As a Congres¬
sional township it is known as Township 44, north Range 9 east.
Among the early settlers were Justus Bangs, Elisha Hubbard, Mark Bangs,
Peter Mills, A. J. Seeber, D. II. Sherman, John C. Wooster, Daniel Martin,
W. H. Hawkins, Thomas F. Slocum, Stephen Rice and R. R. Crosby.
The township is watered by Bangs’ Lake, Slocum’s Lake and two or three
small ponds not named. Bangs’ Lake takes its name from Justus Bangs, Esq.,
who was the first settler in the vicinity, and Slocum’s Lake from Thomas F.
Slocum, who was likewise an early settler in that vicinity. The lands were
originally mostly woodlands and oak openings. It has, however, a small prairie,
formerly known to some extent as Rice's Prairie, lying immediately south of
the village of Volo, containing an area of about 600 acres.
From the abundant supply, of timber in this township, it has become quite
thickly settled, the population being made up of an intelligent and industrious
class of farmers. It has two very flourishing villages — Wauconda and Yolo.
The former is located in the south part of the township, upon the west side of
Bangs' Lake, on the Chicago and McHenry road. The latter is located in the
north part of the town, upon the route of the old Lake and McHenry plank
road. It affords two stores, a hotel, and such mechanics as are usually found
in like country villages.
Limestone is found in abundance in the vicinity of Yolo, and the burning
of lime at this place has been a source of considerable profit to individuals who
have engaged in the business.
The village of Yolo was originally called Forksville, from its being situated
at the forks of the McHenry and Chicago and Little Fort roads. Before any
house was built here, this spot became known as the Forks.
Justus Bangs built the first house in what is now the town of Wauconda, in
1836, on the bank of the lake which thereafter became known as Bangs Lake.
The first school in this township was taught by Mrs. Euphemia Yalentine, in
the Fall of 1839, in a house built for purposes of a school by R. R. Crosby
and E. S. Johonnott, in the northeast part of the town, on Section 1.
A Post Office was established in this township, before the village of Wau¬
conda was commenced, at Slocum’s Lake, called Cornelia. After the village of
Wauconda commenced to grow up, the office at Cornelia was discontinued, and
an office was established at Wauconda. The name of Wauconda was selected,
it is said, by a young man, then a school teacher at that place, who had been
reading an Indian story wherein this name occurred, and to which he for some
reason took a strong fancy.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
319
The name of TV auconda was given to the township by the Commissioners,
in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants as expressed by a petition to
the Commissioners, unanimously signed, and to which there was no remon¬
strance, in the following words :
“ We, the inhabitants of Township 44, Range 9, in the county of Lake,
solicit your consideration to the propriety of selecting the name of Wauconda
for the above township, it being the name of the most important post office in
said town.”
The first town meeting held in this town under the township organization
was convened at the village of Wauconda, on the first Tuesday in April, 1850.
Jonathan Wood was chosen Moderator, and La Fayette Mills acted as Clerk.
The following persons were elected as town officers :
Peter Mills, Supervisor ; La Fayette Mills, Town Clerk ; James S. Davis,
Assessor; E. L. Huson, Collector; A. J. Seeber, Andrew Cook and J. T. Mc¬
Kinney, Commissioners of Highways; Hazard Green and J. H. Wesscher,
Justices of the Peace ; E. L. Huson and Seth Hill, Constables.
The assessed value of property for the year 1850, including both real and
personal, was $61,907.00. The amount of tax computed on the same was
$827.18. The total assessed value of property for 1877 was $252,631.
Ancient mounds, the repository of human bones, were formerly visible in
various parts of this township. One of these remained for some time undis¬
turbed, in the central portion of the village of Wauconda.
In 1856 , an association was organized for building and conducting an academy
in the village of Wauconda, who procured a lot and erected a very commodious
building for that purpose. In 1857, the association became incorporated by a
special act of the Legislature, procured through the exertions of Hon. TV. M.
Burbank, then the Representative from Lake County. The following persons
were chosen as Trustees: Justus Bangs, Andrew Cooke, Thomas F. Slocum,
J. R. Wells and Dr. TV. M. Burbank, who employed Benton Rogers as prin¬
cipal teacher. The institution continued in successful operation for about ten
years, when it was discontinued and the building was rented to the district for
a public school.
Mr. H. B. Burritt, an enterprising citizen of the place, becoming one of the
District Directors, urged the propriety of a purchase of this building by the dis¬
trict and making it a graded school. In the Spring of 187 1, it was accordingly
purchased by the district, and thoroughly repaired, and has since been used for a
graded school, accommodating a large number of scholars from other townships
and adjoining counties. Prof. C. A. Allen is the present principal teacher,
whose reputation as a teacher is of the first order.
The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Wauconda was organized Septem¬
ber 3, 1853, under the direction of Rev. Charles French, preacher in charge.
The following persons were chosen as the first Trustees, viz. : Cyrus Bowen,
Richard Bonner, Nathan Wells, Lewis II. Todd and Charles Fletcher. The
320
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
first minister was Rev. Robt. Beattie. A house of worship was built at Wau-
conda in the Fall and Winter of 1855-6. The present Trustees are Richard
Bonner, L. H. Todd and George Hubbard.
A church edifice of the Roman Catholic Church is being built at the village
of Wauconda, and will be completed and dedicated in November, 1877. It is a
fine, commodious building. The Trustees are James Murry, Clias. Davlin,
Felix Givens, Hugh Davlin and Owen McMahon.
The first Baptist Church organization of Wauconda was in the Fall of
1838, by Elder Joel Wheeler of McHenry. Meetings were held at the house
of Mark Bangs, at Wauconda, and Zebina Ford’s, two and one-half miles
east of Wauconda, until 1856, when the church called the Methodist Church
was built in common by all sects, and occupied by the Methodists and Baptists
on each alternate Sabbath, until February 28, 1870, when the Baptist Church
and Society reorganized and elected a Board of Trustees, consisting of G. R.
Wells, A. P. Werden, Thos. Rawson, H. B. Burritt and A. C. Bangs; and in
the Summer following, built a church, at a cost of about $5,500, which was
dedicated on the 20th of October, 1870, free of debt — Rev. G. L. Brooks,
Pastor from 1855 up to 1874.
The house of worhip of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Yolo, in this
township, was built in 1872. The present Trustees are John Gale, Ambrose
Wrought, Albert Wrought, B. T. Huson and D. C. Townsend.
There is also at Yolo a German Catholic Church building, which was first
built about 1869. It was destroyed by fire before it was completely finished,
and afterward rebuilt.
The village of Wauconda became incorporated as a municipal incorporation,
under the general laws of the State, August 18, 1877. The following were
elected the first Trustees: J. A. Hubbard, Robert Harrison, Daniel Oaks,
Peter Johnson, A. C. Bangs and P. S. Swenson. The following w~ere chosen
officers for the ensuing year : President, Robert Harrison ; Clerk, A. Calkins ;
Street Commisioner, Stebbins Ford ; Constable, Henry Golding.
The population of the village is about 325. The plat of the village was
laid out February 6, 1850. Its business and growth have continued to advance,
year after year, until it has become one of the most flourishing villages in the
county.
TOWNSHIP OF WAUKEGAN.
This township lies upon Lake Michigan, and is known as Township 45,
north Range 12 east. The most important share of the early history of this
township is comprised in that of the county at large, which has already been
given. To avoid repetition, so much only will be given here as was not prop¬
erly included under the head of the county at large.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
321
Among the early settlers of this township, before the city of Waukegan had
a beginning, were Thomas Jenkins, Samuel Pellifant, Charles S. Cary, James
G. Cary, Elmsley Sunderlin, Peleg Sunderlin, Paul Kingston, James B. Gor¬
ton, Henry Knapp, Hezekiah Bryant, D. S. Dewey, Dr. David Cory, Burleigh
Hunt, Daniel Walters, Cornelius Yeiley, Edward Snyder, Erastus Blakesley,
Tlios. B. Benjamin, W. B. Benjamin, James McKay, Arthur Patterson, Capt.
Morris Robinson and D. 0. Dickinson.
The first settlement in this township, as has been stated, was in 1835.
During this year, Thomas Jenkins, of Chicago, and others commenced the con¬
struction of a building in which to open a store of goods. In 1836, a stock of
merchandise was opened in this building by Mr. Jenkins. This building was a
two-story frame structure, about twenty by forty feet in dimensions, and situ¬
ated under the bluff on the north bank of the river, immediately east of the
present track of the Northwestern Railroad. This was the first framed build¬
ing and the first stock of goods in the township. In the course of a year, Mr.
Jenkins abandoned his undertaking and returned to Chicago. Soon there¬
after, James B. Gorton came with a stock of goods ; but, a controversy arising
as to the right of occupancy of the land upon which he had settled, he removed
his stock out to the O’Plain Bridge, on the Milwaukee road, where he remained
until the title became settled by the re-location of the county seat, in 1841.
About the year 1838, Burleigh Hunt, formerly of Canada, came and built
a house on the south side of the river, near where is now the residence of
Judge Blodgett, at the southwest corner of State and Liberty streets, in
Tiffany’s Addition to Waukegan.
The place at this point, as has been mentioned, was then, and had been
from the beginning of the settlement of the Northwest, known as Little Fort.
Mr. Hunt soon after built a dam across the river, near the present site of
State street bridge, on the west, the remains which are still visible,, and built
a saw-mill there ; to which, in 1840, he added a grist-mill.
About the same time, Dr. David Cory came and made a claim of Govern¬
ment land on the northeast quarter of Section 21, and built a house of hewn
logs near the present residence of I. R. Lyon, on State street, just north of
Clayton street. He was the first physician who settled in this township. It
is proper to remark, in this connection, that Mrs. Cory, widow of Dr. David
Cory, who still lives in Waukegan, is now the oldest resident in the city, in
point of time of residence.
The next settler after Dr. Cory at this point was Dennis S. Dewey, from
Chicago, who came a few months thereafter. He built a house, and settled at
the place where is now the elegant residence of Dr. C. V. Price, on Grand
avenue, near the north branch of the Little Fort River. He made a claim of
Government land on the northwest quarter of Section 21, on which he built his
house. Following this he built a dam across the stream, and erected a chair
and furniture factory.
322
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
The object in view by the early settlers at this point was to build up a town
on the lake, and make it an important one for shipping and trade. But the
make of the country being such as not to bring it upon the line of any important
thoroughfare, its progress wras slow, and the prospect rather discouraging ; and
hereupon arose the agitation of the subject of the removal of the county seat
from Libertyville to this place, a pretty full account of which has already been
given.
In pursuance of a vote of the people, the county seat was removed and located
at Little Fort, April 13, 1841. This was a great day for the inhabitants of the
surrounding country.
At this time, the habitations at the point known as Little Fort were five in
number. The day was fine, and everybody for miles around turned out to wit¬
ness the ceremony of the event.
The ground which is the site of the present city was at that time covered
with forest trees and underbrush. That where is now the business portion of
the city, extending to the bluff, was covered with what appeared to be a second
growth of trees, confirming the assertion so often made, that this had once been
a place of some importance as a trading post.
The usual mode adopted by Commissioners in early days, in organizing new
counties, in designating the precise locality determined upon, was to put down
a stake or post at the point selected. For the purposes of this occasion, Mr.
Dewey had turned out at his manufactory, and painted in neat style, a post of
red cedar, which he presented to the County Commissioners to sec in the ground
as marking the particular spot where the county seat should be located — in
other words, where the Court House should be erected. This post was set on
what was considered the highest point of ground at Little Fort. This was
before the town plat was laid out, consequently the place could not be designated
with reference to streets or blocks. But wThen the town plat was surveyed
immediately thereafter, this stake came about upon the east line of the block
where the Court House wTas afterward built, which was reserved as a public
square.
The work of building up the town of Little Fort immediately commenced,
and it has continued in its growth until, in 1877, it contains about six thou¬
sand inhabitants.
A post office wTas established at Little Fort by that name in the summer of
1841, and Joseph Wood appointed Postmaster.
The first lawryer wdio settled at this place wras Isaac Hopkinson, wdio came
in May, 1841, and was employed by the County Commissioners as counsel in
making their first sale of lots, being at public sale during that month.
The first school taught in Little Fort, or what is now the township of Wau¬
kegan, was by E. M. Haines, in the Winter of 1841-2 ; it was in the upper story
of the dwelling house of Andrew Rice, situated on State street, a short dis¬
tance south of Madison street, and about where the present residence of S. I.
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
323
Bradbury now is. It was a private school, sustained by subscription of the
patrons, and continued three months.
About the year 1850, an appropriation was made by Congress of §15,000
to commence the construction of a harbor at Bittle Fort. The work was com¬
menced in 18o3, under the charge of Capt. Gamble. The sum was soon -ex¬
hausted, and as no further appropriation could be obtained, nothing more was
done, and the work performed went to waste.
The first town meeting held in the township of Waukegan, under township
organization, was commenced at the Court House, in Waukegan, on the first
Tuesday in April, 1850. Daniel Brewer presided as Moderator, and Nathaniel
P. Dowst acted as Clerk. The following persons were chosen as town officers :
James B. Gorton, Supervisor; George Wood, Town Clerk; S. H. Flinn, As¬
sessor; Jeremiah Porter, Overseer of the Poor ; William B. Benjamin, Jacob
Montgomery and Eber Hinkston, Commissioners of Highways ; John L.
Turner and Phillip King, Justices of the Peace ; L. Belshaw and Harley Sage,
Constables ; Harley Sage, Collector. The number of votes cast was 302.
The township has a school fund of $3,600.40
The assessed value of property for the year 1850, including both real and
personal, was $365,639. The amount of tax computed on the same for collec¬
tion was $5,756.25.
The total assessed value of property for 1877 was $800,132.
The following article, which appeared in a newspaper published here, March
4, 1845, called the Little Fort Porcupine , being the first paper and the first
number thereof, published in Waukegan, is interesting in contrasting the city
of Waukegan with the present day, and as affording a pretty fair idea of its
progress :
“ The village of Little Fort is situated upon the shore of Lake Michigan,
forty-five miles down the lake from Chicago, nine and a half miles south of the
north line of the State, and sixteen up the lake from Southport. There is
nearly one-half section of land laid out into lots, a great portion of which are
sold and improved. A court house, the best in the State, has been constructed
the past season, and sixty-one other buildings, among -which we enumerate a
brick block, of three stories, by D. S. Dewey ; a fine tavern house, by Michael Du-
lanty ; a large addition to Dickinson & Co.’s warehouse; and a warehouse,
100x24 feet, two and a half stories high, by A. B. Wynkoop.
“ The place contains 452 inhabitants, three commodious public houses, seven
stores, two groceries, two blacksmith shops, one tin and sheet-iron factory, two
shoe shops, three tailor shops, one chair and cabinet factory, one watchmaker,
one gunsmith, two wheelwrights, one plow manufactory, three warehouses, one
pier, and a second being constructed by A. B. Wynkoop. The timber is now
being framed for a steam flouring-mill. There is good clay and two yards,
where brick is made, of a superior cpiality. The facilities of this place for a
heavy produce and lumber business are not surpassed by any place on the west-
324
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
ern shore of the lake, north of Chicago. It is backed up by the best wheat-
growing country in Illinois, and must become a town of considerable impor¬
tance ere it gets to its teens.'’
For the first ten or twelve years of the existence of Waukegan, it was a
place of much importance as a shipping port on the lake. The trade of the
place extended back into the country for a distance of forty miles. But after
the lapse of about twelve or fifteen years this trade became materially reduced
by the construction of railroads through the country.
When Little Fort had reached a population of about 2,500 inhabitants, it
became incorporated for municipal purposes as a village, by an Act of the
Legislature approved February 12, 1849 ; in the act of incorporation was a
provision, that at the first election for Town Officers the inhabitants might
change the name of the town to Waukegan ; which election was held on the
second Monday in March, 1849, at which the following persons were elected as
officers :
President, D. 0. Dickinson ; Trustees — First Ward, W. C. Tiffany and H.
Hugunin ; Second Ward, Jas. B. Gorton and A. Dougherty; Third Ward, E.
S. L. Bachelder and Ransom Steele.
By a unanimous vote of the inhabitants at the same election, the name of the
town was changed to Waukegan , it being the Indian word, in the Pottawattomie
language for Fort.
The name of the Post Office was also changed accordinglv.
The Court House spoken of, an account of the building of which was given
in the fore part of this history, under the head of the county at large, was
destroyed by fire about two years ago, and at the last meeting of the County
Board of Supervisors a new Court House was ordered to be built, on the public
square, on the site of the former building, to cost about $38,000, the work of
which is now rapidly progressing.
Since the completion of the railroad through Waukegan, and the excellent
facilities afforded by the frequent running of passenger trains, this place and
vicinity have become a place of summer residence for business men and others
of Chicago ; besides, a large number of permanent residents of Waukegan carry
on a regular established business in Chicago.
Waukegan is further made a point of attraction in the summer season from
its being in the vicinity of the great cluster of small and beautiful lakes lying
in Lake County.
(For particular account of the City of Waukeg m and its institutions , see page 4^0.)
JOHN ROBERTSON ESQ.
(DECEASED.)
LAKE ZURICH.
%
errata.
WEBB, ALBERT, Antioch Township Farmer • P O R ' L
was born 7™ 4. iQno • o • , ‘ ’ ^ » tuekory ; owns 1G5 acres;
was 00111 Jan. 4, 1809, m Providence, R. I; married Peh 8 l s-w
born Anvil 94. isia ; a . « , , ’ ’ reD- ; wife was
children— -Nancy M„ born Marl" 19, i844 ; {vTJe H„ 1‘IT M ^ 184^
James A., born May 14, 1849; John A„ born March 16, 1854.
J. R. Rowland, Waukegan, should be J. L. Rowland.
Andrew Gartlety, in Shields Township, should be Andrew Gartley.
John Pearson, in Waukegan Township, should be John Fearon
In °l Shields’ the amoUnt ™sed * subscription for the huild-
. 8 of the Academy should be $3,800 instead of $38,000.
Philipp Siegele, of Deerfield Township, should be Philipp Seigeie.
BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORY.
Adv .
agt .
Bapt .
bkpr .
bwr .
brklayr...
carp .
Cath .
elk .
Oli .
Co .
com. mer.
('ong .
Dem .
dir .
JgSt .
Episcopal
Evang ....
Ind .
I. V. I .
I. Y. C .
I. Y. A....
far .
HR li E ~V I ^Y T I (> N S .
. Adventist
. agent
. Baptist
. bookkeeper
. brewer
. bricklayer
. carpenter
. Catholic
. clerk
. Chnrcli
. Company or County
. commission merchant
. Congregational
. Democrat
. '...dealer
. . druggist
. Episcopal
. Evangelist
. Independent
.Illinois Volunteer Infantry
..Illinois Volunteer Cavalry
Illinois Volunteer Artillery
. farmer
tdry . foundry
pro . grocer
Mph . Methodist
m*r . manufacturer
ni “ch . machinist
ni'ir . maker
mech . mechanic
m®r . merchant
. minister
Phot . photographer
phys . physician
Fresh . Presbyterian
Pr . printer
Ptr . painter
prop . proprietor
Rep . Republican
Rev . Reverend
sec . section or secretary
slsmn . salesman
Spir . Spiritualist
supt . superintendent
treas . treasurer
WAUKEGAN
BBOTT, MARTIN, grocer; P. 0.
Waukegan.
ADAMS, GEO. K. , lumber merchant ;
Waukegan ; born in Lake Co., Ill., April
3d, 1846.
Adams, Dan, bookkeeper; P.O. Waukegan.
Ackenback, Ernst, lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Allen, T. N., loan agent; P. 0. Waukegan.
Allen, Wm., clerk; P. 0. Waukegan.
Alford, W. D., clerk; P. 0. Waukegan.
Arnold W. H., mfr.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Arno, John B., laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Austin, Perry L., carp.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Avery, E. W., P. 0. Waukegan.
Avery, J. A., local ed.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Arnold, D. W., lime dir.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Andreas, Dan’l, tailor; P. 0. Waukegan.
Armstrong, Wm., P. 0. Waukegan.
Atchison, W. D., M. E. minister; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Adams, Geo., P. 0. Waukegan.
Adams, C. E., P. 0. Waukegan.
Ackley, G. N., P. 0. Waukegan.
Avery, N. S., grocer; P. 0. Waukegan.
TOWNSHIP.
Allen, Alex., farmer and speculator; P. 0.
Waukegan:
Adam, David, farmer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Arnold, W. B., P. 0. Waukegan.
Berry, Patrick, laborer; p. o.
Waukegan.
BROWN, O. B., of firm of Beard
& Brown, photographers; Waukegan;
born in Lake Co., Ill., 1855; Rep.;
Bapt.
BEARD, HENRY ASHFORD,
firm of Beard & Brown, photographers;
Waukegan ; born in Bristol, Eng., 1855;
Rep.; Epis.
Berry, A. C., merchant; P.O. Waukegan.
Bell, John, sailor; P. 0. Waukegan.
Besley, Wm., brewer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Besley, Wm. B., brewer; P.O. Waukegan.
Besley, E. D., brewer; P.O. Waukegan.
Besley, Geo. W., dgst.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Besley, John, W., City Clerk; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Becker, August, min.; P. O. Waukegan.
a
328
TAX PAYERS AND VOTERS OF
Beauman, Wm., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan, j
Benedict, Andrew, loan agent; P. 0. W au
BERRY, H. S., Of H. S. Berry &
Co., millers ; Waukegan ; born in Frank
lin Co., N. Y., 1816; settled in Wauke¬
gan in 1845; married twice; first wife
Miss Eliza Caple, second wife Miss Helen
Montgomery ; four children — Albert C.,
Fred C., Helen M. and Lawrence C.
Bishop, L., salesman; P. 0. Waukegan.
Biddinger, Peter, shoemaker; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Biddinger, N., tailor; P. 0. Waukegan.
Biddinger, J., tailor; P. 0. Waukegan.
Biddlecom, Milton P., capitalist; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Biddlecom, J. C., mer.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Billings, Chas., laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bilhartz, Joseph, carp.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bilhartz, Otto, cabinet maker ; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Biddinger, Mich’l, mer.; P. 0. Waukegan.
BOWER, A. C., lumberman; Wau¬
kegan; born in New York State, 1843,
and came to Waukegan in 1867 ; Rep.;
Epis.; married Miss Carrie A elie in 1867;
has four children — Jennie, Alida, Geo.
W. and Albert L.; held office of Aider-
man in Waukegan.
Barker, James S.,fdry.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Ballentine, David, P. 0. Waukegan.
Baker, John C., vocalist; P. 0. Waukegan.
Baker, J. A., vocalist; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bangs, L. D., broom maker; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Bauer, Adam, laborer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Barker, Wm., mason; P. 0. Waukegan.
Barnum, H. P., carp.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Barker, W. G., student; P. 0. Waukegan.
Barker, W. C., phys.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bacon, L. C., mfr.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Barker, Walter, clerk; P. 0. Waukegan.
Badger, E., contractor; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bachelder, E. S. L., merchant; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Baker, E., P. 0. Waukegan.
Baker, G. E., vocalist; P. 0. Waukegan.
Beard, Harry, phot.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Badaker, Casper, lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Baird, Alex., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bassett, F. C., clerk; P. 0. Waukegan.
Barker, D. N., salesman ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Belden, Ephraim, far.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Belden, E. C., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Benjamin, W. B., far.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bedall, Jno., farmer, P. 0. Waukegan.
Berry, A. C., merchant; P. 0. Waukegan.
BLANCHARD, PHILIP, farmer ;
Secs. 3 and 4; P. 0. Waukegan; born
in N. Y. 1804 and came to Lake Co. in
1837 ; was engaged in teaching school in
N. Y. ; owns 90 acres, worth $100 per
acre ; Rep.; Meth. A society of a hundred
families, formed for the purpose of emi¬
grating west, appointed an agent who
came west and made claim on several
thousand acres of land. The families
came and settled, and through poor man¬
agement they became involved in trouble
and were broken up. Married Miss
Hannah Frost, of N. Y., born 1807y
married 1829; seven children — Martha
Ann, John, Arthur, Hannah, James,
Sarah E. and Mary, all living; lost one,
Levi. Belonged to Co. I, 47th Ill. Y. 1. *T
enlisted in 1861 ; was taken sick with ty¬
phoid fever, and died at Savannah, Ga.r
March 25, 1862.
Biddenger, Mathias, tailor ; P. 0. Wauke¬
gan.
Botsford, R. S., commission merchant; P.
O. Waukegan.
Botsford, A. B., P. 0. Waukegan.
Botsford, R., grocer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Boyland, Wm., capitalist; P. 0. Wauke¬
gan.
Boyland, E., laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Boiler, Fred, carriage manufacturer ; P. O.
Waukegan.
Boucher, Fred, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bohn, John, carpenter; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bohn, Fred, tailor; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bower, J. K., planing-mill ; P. 0. Wauke¬
gan.
Bower, A. C., lumber; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bodwell, A. J., slsmn.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Boyington, E. E., slsmn.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Buell, C. G., ex-Sheriff; P. 0. Waukegan.
BISHOP, JOHN, farmer ; Sec. 9 ,
P. 0. Waukegan; born in Genesee Co.r
N. Y., July 2, 1822; came to Lake
Co. October, 1843; Dem.; liberal in re¬
ligion ; married twice ; first wife Lucy
Viley, of N. Y., born July, 1824, died
April 28, 1854; second wife, Matilda
Irish, of N. Y.; she was born July 18,
1830; has one child, Lorenzo B., born
May 27, 1848 (married Nellie Arnold,
of Waukegan). His father’s name is
H. B. Bishop, of N. Y., born January,
1797; was killed by a falling tree May,
LAKE COUNTY : WAUKEGAN.
1832. His mother was Jolettie Law¬
rence, born Sept. 14, 1802, and died
April 2, 1877. Wife’s father was John
Irish, born Sept. 5, 1797, died Nov. 5,
1857 , mother was Betsey Jennings
born May 25, 1804, died Feb. 2, 1866’
Buell, W. A., hostler; P. 0. Waukegan.
Buell, Abram, farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bubb, Geo., wagon mfr.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Burk, David, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Burk, Eberhart, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Burk, D., laborer; P. O. Waukegan.
Burk, E., P. 0. Waukegan.
Burk, John, farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Burns, Thomas, laborer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Burns, Henry, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bullock, J. B., phys.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Butterfield, Hiram A., laborer; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Butterfield, Isaac, janitor; P.O. Waukegan.
Butler, Greo., carpenter; P. 0. Waukegan.
Butler, Wm., machinist; P. 0. Waukegan.
Burtis, Melvin, brklayr.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Burling, Jos., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Burnett, G. H., gunsmith; P. 0. Wauke-
gan.
Burton, J. C., P. 0. Waukegan.
Burton, Victor, clerk; P. 0. Waukegan.
BUBOLTD, MRS. HENREAT-
TA, farmer; Sec. 19; P. 0. Wauke
gan; born in Prussia, Germany, 1838,
and came to America August, 1857 ;
married Feb. 7, 1858, to B. Buboltd, at
Waukegan. Her husband belonged to
13th U. S. Inf.; he died in the South.
Came to Lake Co. in 1857; five chil¬
dren — Amelia, born Dec. 19, 1858;
Ephraim, Aug. 25, ’60; Mary, Jan. 4,
68, John, Sept. 25, ’63; and Emma,
June 20, ’65.
Brown, J. D., tea dealer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brown, M. J., lumber; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brown, Jno., P. 0. Waukegan.
Brown, J. M., P. 0. Waukegan.
BRADBURY, SAMUEL I.,
Waukegan ; born in Albany, N. Y., Nov.
8, 1828; apprenticed to printing busi¬
ness in that city Nov. 8, 1842; came to
Waukegan (then Little Fort) Nov. 25,
1847 ; married Mary A., daughter of
Luther and Charlotte Spaulding, of
Spaulding’s Corners, Nov. 25, 1851;
three children — Frances M., Dewitt H.
and Samuel H.; sons both printers ; has
been engaged in the publishing business
in Waukegan for the best part of thirty
329
years; now owns and edits the Lake
County Patriot (the lineal descendant
of the Little Fort Porcupine , the first
paper published in Lake Co.), indepen¬
dent on all subjects ; like Andy Johnson,
has been u Alderman of his village- sev¬
eral years ; says his ambition is confined
to publishing the best paper in the
county, and to serving the interests of
the people of Lake Co. to the best of
his ability.
Brown, Norman, collector; P. 0. Wauke¬
gan.
Brown, A., physician; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brown, Frank, hostler; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brown, V. J., painter; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brewster, Dan 1, harness; P. 0. Whukegan.
Brewster, J. L., harness ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brand, P. P., barber; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bray, Wm. A., carp.; P. 0. Waukegan.
BLODGETT, A. Z., agent C. & N.
W. By., coal and grain dealer, buys and
sells fine stock ; Waukegan ; born in Du
Page Co., Ill., 1837; Bep .; came to Lake
Co. in 1854; married Miss Mary E.
Porter, of Canada, in 1857; has five
children— Henry P., Cyrus E., John H.,
Frank P and Lewis D.
Bradbury, Andrew, pr. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brewer, Dan’l, atty.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brewer, Chas., salesman ; P. O. Waukegan.
Brewer, Dan’l, tailor; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brain, H., gardener; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bryant, M. A., carp.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bruce, C. G., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brogan, Jno., scale mkr.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Blanchard, Arthur, far.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Blanchard, Jas., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Blodgett, H. W., Judge U. S. Dist.' Court;
P. 0. Waukegan.
Blowney, B. G., harness maker; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Blows, Chas., carpenter; P. 0. Waukegan.
Breischack, Geo., lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brown, S. S., sewing machine agent; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Blanchard, W. S., P. 0. Waukegan.
BARBOUR, JOHN, P. 0 Gurney;
born in Scotland, 1841 ; came to Amer¬
ica in 1862; liberal in politics; Chris¬
tian; works 270 acres of land; married
Miss Jane Dilley, of Pa.; have two chil¬
dren— James C. B., born July 28, 1872,
and Meyrta A., born April 16, 1875;
works farm belonging to Henry J. Sligh-
field, of Waukegan.
330
TAX-PAYERS AND VOTERS OF
Baxter, Wm., saloon; P. 0. Waukegan.
Baxter, R. A., saloon; P. 0. Waukegan.
Biddlecom, Z. L., carp.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Boyington, T. M., P. 0. Waukegan.
Baker, E. H., minister; P. 0. Waukegan.
Boening, Lewis, phys.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bradbury, D. H., pr ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Beuckmann, Frank, scale mkr.; P. O.Wau
gan.
Brown, 0. L., P. 0. Waukegan.
Buckman, Henry, mechanic; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Baskerfield, Richard, tailor; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Barnum, C. A., slsmn.; P. 0. Waukfgan.
Burns, Peter, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brown, Edwin, P. 0. Waukegan.
Burns, Henry, Jr., lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bell, Robt., P. 0. Waukegan.
Barker, E. W., P. 0. Waukegan.
Burris, Sam’l, farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Burris, 0., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Burris, Wm., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Brown, W. J., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Beauman, Fred, mech.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Bierhaus, Fred ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Barker, F. M., P. 0. Waukegan.
Beck, G-eo. B., P. 0. Waukegan.
Brown, W. J., P. 0. Waukegan.
COMPTON, ROBT., speculator ; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Cole, E., laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Cole, W. S., laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Colburn, N. E., P. 0. Waukegan.
Conners, J. W., slsmn.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Colgrove, Geo., laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Coman, B. A., P. 0. Waukegan.
Cawler, David, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Cochrane, Wm., wagon maker; P.O. Wau¬
kegan.
Chamberlin, Wallace, laborer ; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Cheever, A. R., P. 0. Waukegan.
Clark, Edward, drayman; P.O. Waukegan.
Clark, Jas. B., drayman; P. 0. Waukegan.
CLARKSON, DR. R. W., Dentist,
Waukegan ; born in N. Y. Dec. 1, 1822 ;
graduated at the Baltimore college in
1846 ; came to Lake Co. (then McHenry)
1838; married Miss Julia Lytle 1872;
two children — Maud May and John Gor¬
don.
Clark, Geo., carpenter ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Clarkson, John E., baggage master; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Clement, Stephen, capitalist; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Crapo, Walter, carp.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Crell, Julius, piano tuner; P. 0. Wauke¬
gan.
Cromer, John, P. 0. Waukegan.
Crooker, W. W., P. 0. Waukegan.
Crossley, J. P., produce dealer; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Cronan, Jerry, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Cutter, S. R., carpenter; P. 0. Waukegan.
Curtis, Jno. L., P. 0. Waukegan.
Curtis, E. H., Presb. min.; P. 0. Wauke¬
gan.
Cunningham, P. W., harness maker ; P.O.
Waukegan.
Curtiss, Clinton, P. 0. Waukegan.
Crawford, E. C., Principal high school; P.
0. Waukegan.
CLARKE, FRAN CIS E., attorney ;
W aukegan ; commenced the practice of
law in 1856 ; born in Williamstown, Vt..
March 4, 1828; graduated at the Dart¬
mouth College, N. H., in 1851 ; set
tied in Waukegan same year; Rep.;
held office of County School Commis¬
sioner from 1853 to 1860 ; was Principal
of the Waukegan academy for five years ;
married Hannah C. Scott, of Mass., Jan.
13, 1858; have three children — MaryE.,
Helen C. and Lucy H.
Case, W. M., prod, dir.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Case, Chas. M., commission salesman; P.
0. Waukegan.
Cain, Thomas, saloon; P. 0. Waukegan.
Calkins, Smith, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Connolly, Michael, lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Connolly, R. A., civil engineer; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Cone, Sam’l, supt. “ Phoenix Hall ;” P. 0.
Waukegan.
Cone, E. S., capitalist; P. 0. Waukegan.
Cory B. S., Sr., phys.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Cory, D. A., salesman; P. 0. Waukegan.
Cory, B. S., Jr., adv. agt.; P. O. Waukegan.
Cook, Homer, attorney; P. 0. Waukegan.
Colls, R. K., Justice of the Peace; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Conrad, Henry, cooper; P.O. Waukegan.
CRABTREE, L., proprietor ‘‘ Pioneer
Carriage Mfy.;” Waukegan; born in
N. Y. in 1829 ; came to Illinois in 1840 ;
farmed in McHenry Co. eight years;
came to Waukegan in 1848; engaged in
blacksmithing until 1855, when he com¬
menced the manufacture of carriages
I
LAKE COUNTY : WAUKEGAN.
331
wagons, etc.; manufactures for States of
Iowa, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin ;
value of manufactory, $30,000 ; Rep. ;
married twice ; first wife Miss Margaret
E. JVIcClay, of Vermont, in 1854 (who
died in 1856), second wife Sarah E. Slew-
man. of Massachusetts, in 1876.
COYKENDALL, GEO. W. , farm¬
er; Sec. 19; Waukegan; born in N. Y.
Oct. 16, 1834; moved to Cass Co.,
Mich., 1861, and remained there en¬
gaged in salt manufactory until 1865,
when he came to Lake Co.; farms 40
acres, value $4,000 ; left Lake Co. for
Dakota Territory in 1867, and settled
in Union Co., D. T.; owned 170 acres of
land ; was one among the many who suf
fered from the grasshoppers; returned
to Lake Co. in 1873; married Mary E.
Haggart, born Oct. 10, 1837 ; (widow of
E. Haggart, of N. Y., who was killed in
the battle of Chickamauga, Ga., Sept. 18,
1863; belonged to Co. D, 96th Ill. V.
I.; enlisted Aug. 6, 1862; was the first
man that was shot who belonged to the
96th Ill. V . I. ) The maiden name of Mrs.
Coykendall is Mary E. See, daughter
of A. A. D. See. Her father was born
Jan. 15, 1813, died Nov. 30, 1862.
Her mother was O. A. Clark, born May
13, 1815, died 1864. Mrs. Coykendall
has five children — Ella A., born 1865,
Eva A., 1867, Herbert L., 1869, Her¬
man L., 1871, and John A., 1860.
Meth.; Rep.
Collins, W., minister; P. O. Waukegan.
Cain, John, laborer; P. O. Waukegan.
Culver, Edward, P. O. Waukegan.
Connolly, Patrick, clerk ; P. O. Waukegan.
CORY, JAMES Y., Postmaster; j
Waukegan; Rep.; Epis.; born in Cana¬
da Oct. 12, 1828; settled at Waukegan
Aug. 21, 1844; married Miss Eliza P.
Kellogg, of Maine, Oct. 12, 1852; two
children living — James Stewart and Kate
Thomson ; was appointed Postmaster
by President Lincoln in 1861; was re
appointed by President Grant in 1874,
which office he still holds.
Cawley, Dennis, laborer; P. O. Waukegan.
CHILDS, D. T., merchant; Wauke¬
gan; born in Middlehadam, Ct., Aug.
1832; married Miss M. E. Dolan, of
N. Y.; have three children — James T.,
Nellie C. B. and Hattie T.
Crain, H. A., P. 0. Waukegan.
Clark, E. J., P. 0. Waukegan.
Chapin, I rank, P. 0. Waukegan.
Caulley, John, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan,
Connor, John, P. 0. Waukegan.
Chamberlin, Sidney, lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
COOK, HOMER, attorney; Wauke¬
gan; Rep.; Meth.; born in Stamford,
Vt., Jan. 5, 1832; came to Lake Co. in
1840; was admitted to the bar in 1861,
and has practiced law in Chicago and
Lake Co. ever since ; owns 40 acres land,
value $5,000; married Miss Annie Sim¬
mons; four children — Minnie L., Lucy
M., Carrie E. and Jessie A. His father,
Andrew Cook, was born at Stamford.
Vt., Nov. 5, 1801; came to Lake Co.
in 1840.
DADY, ROBERT, farmer; P. O.
Waukegan.
DODGE, WM. B., firm of Dodge
& Watrous; Waukegan; Rep.; Epis.;
born in Seneca Co., N. Y., 1824;
settled in Waukegan Dec. 1846; is one
of the prominent men of Lake Co.; is
now the Mayor of Waukegan ; has been
a member of the Legislature and County
Supervisor; married Miss Harriett S.
Getty, of N. Y., Nov. 1850; one child
— Wm. H.
Dady, J. R., carriage mfr. ; P.O. Waukegan.
Darrah, A., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan."
Darrah, Robt., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dewey, Geo., prod, dir.; P. O. Waukegan.
De Hart, Jos., P. 0. Waukegan.
Devlin, Michael, police.; P. 6. Waukegan.
Dennison, A. J., commission merchant ; P.
O. Wauke gan.
Derrick, S. N., P. 0. Waukegan.
Dennison, S. P., P. 0. Waukegan.
Dickinson, Jos., painter; P.O. Waukegan.
Dickinson, Chas., carp.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dickinson, A. E., broom maker; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Dickinson, D. C., commission merchant:
P. 0. Waukegan.
Deitmeyer, J03., saloon; P. 0. Waukegan.
Deitmeyer, John, saloon ; P.O. Waukegan.
Deitmeyer, F., saloon; P. 0. Waukegan.
Deitmeyer, Henry, drayman; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Diver, Geo. H., clerk; P. 0. Waukegan.
DOUGLAS, ROBERT, proprietor
Waukegan Nursery; Waukegan; born
in England April 20, 1813; settled in
Waukegan June 21, 1844; married Miss
332
TAX-PAYERS AND VOTERS OF
Sylvia Wheeler May 12, 1843 ; have
four children — Alice J., Robert John,
Chas. W. and Thomas H.
Douglas, Thos. H., nursery man; P. 0.
Waukegan,
Douglas, J. R., nursery man ; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Douglas, C. W., Sr., shoemaker ; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Douglas, Charles W., nursery man ; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Douglas, A. R., hostler ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dodge, W. H., mer. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dorsett, L. C., asst. P. M.; P. 0. Wauke¬
gan-
Dow, W. H., mfr.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dowst, Henry W., telegraph operator;
P. 0. Waukegan.
Dorans, T., laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dougherty, John, gardener ; P. 0. Wan-
kegan.
Dolan, J. E., salesman ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dolan, C. G-., harness maker ; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Donhauser, John, P. 0. Waukegan.
DENNIS, EDWARD M„ Wau¬
kegan ; representative from the 8th
District; was born in New Jersey, in
1822 ; is a tobacconist by occupation ;
came to Illinois when Chicago was a
village, in 1834 ; has voted the Demo¬
cratic ticket 34 years; was lighthouse
keeper under President Pierce, and P.
M. under Buchanan ; was elected repre¬
sentative in 1876 as a Dem. ; received
5,964 votes.
Drew, Richard, blacksmith; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Dunning, G., blacksmith; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Dugan, John, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dugan, Michael, lab.: P. 0. Waukegan.
Dugan, Dennis, lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dulanty, Michael, P. 0. Waukegan.
Duffy, Paul, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Duffy, Patrick, laborer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Duffy, Ross, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dugdale, Edward, sailor; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dugdale, Thomas, far.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dunlay, Wm., blacksmith; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Dumond, James, scale maker; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
D welly, Hiram ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Dodge, Charles H., far.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Drummond, Victor, P. 0. Waukegan.
Dugan, M. H., laborer; P. O. Waukegan.
Dwyer, Patrick, P. 0. Waukegan.
Doubrara, Jos., P. 0. Waukegan.
Deitmeyer, F. J., teamster; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Drew, Stephen, blacksmith; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Davenport, Thos., P. 0. Waukegan.
Durkee, H. 0., scale works; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Davlm, John H., P. 0. Waukegan.
Davlin, John, P. 0. Waukegan.
Dougdale, Henry, hostler; P. 0. Wauke¬
gan.
Dennison, A. J., P. 0. Waukegan.
EARLL, R. C.,mer.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Earll, Edward, student; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Edwards, Wm., clerk ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Effinger, M., tailor; P. 0. Waukegan.
Ellis, Chas., constable; P. 0. Waukegan.
ELLIS, W. H., Waukegan ; clerk
of Lake Co.; born in Washington Co.,
Vt., Dec. 14, 1823 ; came to Lake Co.,
Sept., 1851; was elected Co. clerk in
1865 ; which office he still holds ; Rep.;
married Miss Amanda Pettingill, of
Vermont, Oct., 1846 ; have two child¬
ren — Warren H. and Nellie.
Ely, D. S., salesman; P. 0. Waukegan.
Emerson, Ruben, P. 0. Waukegan.
Emery, Gr. W., mason ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Erb, E. W., painter; P. 0. Waukegan.
Erskine, Sr., D. M., real estate and ins.;
P. O. Waukegan.
Ester, T. C., P. 0. Waukegan,
Evans, Moses, physician; P. 0. Waukegan.
Evans, H. A., reporter ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Evans, J. 0., mechanic ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Edmonds, Henry, far.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Edmonds, Wm., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Ellerton, Geo., farmer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Erskine, Samuel, P. 0. Waukegan.
Emrich, Aug., tailor; P.O. Waukegan.
Edwards, C., clerk ; P. 0. Waukegan.
FARROW, JOHN, farmer; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Fay, Geo. W., banker; P. 0. Waukegan.
Fay, John, P. 0. Waukegan.
Fay, W. H., bank teller ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Farrell, Thos., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Farrell, James, farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Farrell, James, Jr., farmer: P. 0. Wau¬
kegan .
LAKE COUNTY: WAUKEGAN.
333
Farrell, Patrick, farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
PEARSON, JOHN, farmer ; Sec. 5 ;
P. 0., Waukegan; born in Ireland about
1805; came to America in 1843 ; owns
80 acres, valued at $75 per acre ; married
Miss Elizabeth McGavacock, born in
Antermon Co., Cavin Castle, Ireland, in
1828 ; married in Waukegan, July 1,
1852.
Fenkell, E. B., P. 0. Waukegan.
Fenkell, J. W , farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Fenkell Ernest, teamster; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Fenkell E. L., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Ferguson, Geo., harness maker; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Ferguson, A. 0., carriage mfr. ; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Ferguson, G. A., farmer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Fehls, Carl, carpenter ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Field, Hubbard, slsmn. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Finney, James, mason ; P. 0 Waukegan.
FOX, CHAS. H., Waukegan; firm
of Steele & Fox, dry goods and general
mdse. ; born in Marsville, Madison Co.,
N. Y., Sept. 18, 1829; Hep.; Baptist;
married Miss Georgiana A. Steele, of
Illinois, June, 1861 ; have three chil¬
dren — Annie, Chas. H., and Edgar H.
Fleming, Thos., elk.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Fleming, Arthur, teamster; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Flinn, S. H., assessor; P. 0. Waukegan.
Flood, Edward, lab. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Flogg, Chas. B., elk. ; P. 0. Waukpgan.
Fleischman, Michael, maltster ; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Flanders, Nathan, carp. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Flood, Win., lab. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Foy, Patrick, lab. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Foy, John H., gardener; P. 0. Waukegan.
Fowler, A. E.,blksmth. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Forsyth, J. F., scale works; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
FERGUSON, MRS. A. B., Wau¬
kegan ; farming Section 31 ; is the wid¬
ow of the late A. B. Ferguson, who was
born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1821, and
came to America in 1848 ; married Miss
Jane Leitch, of Scotland, who was born
in 1821, and married in 1843; Mr. F.
died on the farm in 1873 ; own 120
acres of land, worth $7,200 ; have four
children — Geo. A., born in New York,
August 24, 1852 ; John B., born in
Glasgow, Scotland, in February, 1844 ;
enlisted in 1861, in the late war, in Co.
C, 37th I. Y. I.; died at Carlton, La ,
1863 ; Annie, born 1845, married A. B.
Richey; Jane W., born in Lake Co., in
1854.
Fort, J. S., slsmn ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Frike, Chas., loan agt. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Frank, Heniy, lab. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Frank, Michael, tanner ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Freeman, Win., P. 0. Waukegan.
Fredrick, Chas., basket maker ; P. O.
Waukegan.
Fulton, Wm., sash and blind maker; P.
0. Waukegan.
Fallon, Jas., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Finney, Andrew, mason ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Flagg, B. L., com. agt. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
FORSYTH, J. F., President Forsyth
Scale Works, Waukegan ; born in Phila¬
delphia, Pa., August 6, 1839; married
Adaline Augusta Cheeney, of Ver¬
mont, born Dec. 20, 1838; father, A.
T. Cheeney, and mother, Anne Miller ;
Orion Forsyth, Elizabeth E. Frederick,
father and mother of J. F. Forsyth ;
three children — Anne E., born July 23,
1868 ; Bessie M., born Dec. 29, 1870 ;
Susie, born Oct. 29, 1875.
Finer, F., sewing machine agent ; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Fort, C. H., P. 0. Waukegan.
Felton, Eugene, lab. ; P. 0 Waukegan.
Foy, John, retired farmer; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Fango, Sam’l,plow mfr ; P. O. Waukegan.
Farrell, Michael, farmer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Farrill, John, farmer; P. O. Waukegan.
Frayer, R. H., lab. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Felton, Homer, P. 0. Waukegan.
aAVIGAN, THOMAS, lab.; P. O
Waukegan.
Gavigan. Patrick, lab. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
GILLEN, JACOB, Waukegan ; born
in Germany, 1810; Dem. ; Catholic;
owns two houses, valued at $8,000 ;
settled in Waukegan in 1867; proprie¬
tor Lake House, No. 60 State street,
Waukegan.
Gage, E.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gage, J., physician; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gallagher. Jas., drayman; P. 0 Waukegan.
Gamash, Frank, fishrmn.; P. O. Waukegan.
Garvin, Michael, lab. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gail, T. D., farmer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gavin, E.W., Cath. priest; P. 0. Waukegan.
334
TAX-PAYERS AND VOTERS OF
Gamash, Jas., fisherman ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gamash, A., fisherman ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gamash, Sami., fisherman ; P. 0. Wauke¬
gan.
George, C. B., P. 0. Waukegan.
Garrity, James, lab. ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gilchrist, Thos., lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gilbert, A. A., carpenter ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Ginley, Patrick, carp.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Ginley, Martin, carp.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gilmore, David, P. 0. Waukegan.
Gilmore, Frank B., ptr.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gleason, Hiram, farmer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gliss, Fred, carpenter; P 0. Waukegan.
Gorton, J. B., farmer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gorman, Matthew, lab ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gorman, Michael, lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Goneau, Jos., laborer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Goneau, Alex., farmer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Golden, John, moulder; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gray, W. A., clerk ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gray, Chas. T., printer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Green, Webster, carp.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Green, R. C., mason; P. 0. Waukegan.
Green, Wm., farmer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Graham. Andrew, tailor ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Greenleaf, S. S., shoemaker; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Griffith, Albright, clerk ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Griggs, Sami., whitewasher ; P. 0. Wauke-
gan.
Griggs, R. B.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Griswold, Henry, lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Grogan, John, laborer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Grover, David, teamster ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Graham, Edward, lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gunn, Ed. D., house mover; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Graham, Walter, teamster ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Granger, James ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gilbert, Ashley, printer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Green, James, printer; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gurnee, L. J., abstract of titles; P. 0.
Waukegan.
Goneau, Lewis, lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Goodbodv, Richard, far.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Grady, Patrick, far.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Green, G. G.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Grimes, Thos., laborer ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Gail, W. S., broom mkr ; P. 0. Waukegan.
Grady, James, P. 0. Waukegan.
Grimolby, J. W., blacksmith ; P. 0. Wau¬
kegan.
Gibble, J. A., P. 0. Waukegan.'
Gibbons, Timothy, P. 0. Waukegan.
Gail, H. S., broom mkr.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Helmholtz, henry, p. o.
Waukegan.
HAGEN, HERMAN L., Wan-
kegan ; born in Prussia, in 1813; far
mer, Section 32 ; sailed for America in
1851; settled and bought the farm he now
lives on, in Lake County, May 16, 1851.
Father, H. L. Hagen, farmer in Prussia,
died in 1832, 68 years old. Married
Miss Catherine Bomcamp, of Prussia,
in 1851 ; have one child, George, born
June 20, 1863 ; owns 140 acres of land,
worth $14,000 ; Dem. ; Catholic.
Henneman, Chas., lab.; P. 0. Waukegan.
Heydecker, C. T. 
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